Web of Cadmus
by Agent-G
Summary: Here it is the sequel to Justice League The Spider. Cadmus is making their own plans and a new team, will this team be a threat to the League and there are strangely familiar faces inside of this new team as well.
1. New Lease on Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to DC or Marvel comics only the plot is mine. This story takes place a couple of months after the last one and enters into season two of JLU cartoon.**

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**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 1: New Lease on Life**

In New York City one of the largest cities in American and one of the most famous and oldest, high above in a penthouse home in his bed slept Peter Parker also known to the world as the amazing Spider-Man. He was a young man almost nineteen years old with brown hair and matching eyes, he had been a hero ever since he was fifteen getting bitten by a genetically altered super spider that was altered with the OZ formula.

Ever since then Peter's life had never been normal but it was also filled with tragedy that tested him like most people never have. He had lost his parents when he was a child and lived with his aunt and uncle that were as much parents as they were guardians. Peter was very smart but also picked on most of his life, then his uncle had been killed by a man he didn't stop but could have. The guilt still ate at him and over the years he had suffered much.

Injuries that piled up paled in comparison to being thought of as a villain by most in his home city, then all the deaths of those closets to him. First Gwen Stacey who had been almost like a sister to him, even her clone was killed later on. There was Harry his best friend, his aunt and his greatest first love Mary Jane. He had seen them killed by his nemesis the Green Goblin who was Norman Osborn. In their last battle Spider-Man accidentally killed the murderer and in his darkest hour couldn't bare the pain and tried to end it all by leaping off a building.

But fate wasn't done with him, unknown to him a pair of scientists were researching doorways into other worlds and through an accident he had slipped through one into the Watchtower of the Justice League. It wasn't the best of first impressions but over time the League became his friends and helped him to make a new life for himself on this new Earth. Peter had joined the League when he was up to it and now he was a respected hero with friends for support and that's not all.

During his time here he managed to find love again in his close friend and roommate Kara Kent also known by her alien name as Kara Zor-el but known to Earth as Supergirl.

It was early in the morning and Peter was crashed out in his bed, he still had on the bottom half of his Spider-Man uniform as he had a late night and got to bed feeling so tired he just collapsed onto it. His room held a large bed with a dresser and closet with a work bench to one corner of the room. He liked to use it for studying and working on a few things. There was a spare set of webshooters still being worked on it as well.

Peter was blissfully asleep and was so deep asleep that he didn't notice the door to the spared bathroom opening up. In walked in a beautiful young teen his own age with golden hair and blue eyes. Kara yawned as her alarm had woken her up and she came to see if Peter was awake. She didn't know what time he got back home but she knew it had to be late and if he wasn't going to be late for classes he needed to get up. She was wearing a pink two piece pyjamas as she looked at the bed.

She sighed and shook her head she should have known that he would still be asleep. She walked over to him and for a moment smiled he looked so cute when he was asleep and the fact that he was shirtless was nice to her as well. She could see his strong yet slim build and also a few of the old scars that she knew he had over the rest of his body as well from years of injuries.

"Come on Peter wake up," She said shaking him gently. He muttered something about five more minutes and then turned over going back to sleep. Kara placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips wondering how to wake him up. She had a few ideas and then a mischievous grin slowly worked its way onto her face. "Okay you asked for is Spider Boy."

With her strength she easily picked Peter up and started to carry him, right into the bathroom. The bathroom was nice and large with a large tub with jet streams and a good size shower. She had to admit given that this place originally belonged to Bruce Wayne who gave it to them since he never used it, he had really gone out when he had this place done. Kara and Peter had to admit they were lucky that he gave it to them but then again he was their friend after all.

Peter was a bit groggy as Kara placed him inside of the shower and was slowly waking up, when the cold water blasted him he jumped with a cry of shock. He looked around to see a laughing Kara just outside of the clear class door. "Kara!"

"I'm sorry but I tried to wake you nicely but you weren't waking up. Besides you need a shower anyway and this should also teach you not to stay out so late when we got school the next morning." She said between laughs.

Peter gave her a glare as he quickly changed the temperature with one hand but then he got a little idea for revenge himself. As she was still lost in a fit of giggles he quickly reached out and grabbed her arm gently and pulled her in. She gave a shriek of surprise and outrage as she got wet as well, "Peter!"

Now it was his tern to laugh as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Fair is fair Kara, besides you haven't showered yet anyway ."

She pouted her lips as she felt the water soak her down, "Yeah well what do you want to do then? Wash each other's backsides you know where that would lead to and last time we did that we nearly got late and I had to fly us both to NYU at super speed."

He leaned in whispering into her ear, "Well last time we took our time and can you blame me? Having a beautiful and wet woman in my arms as we're washing each other well how can any guy resist that?" He started to place gentle kisses on her neck as his arms traveled along her sides. She felt a shiver run up her spine and it wasn't from the cold but his actions.

"Damn it that's not fair," She said as her own hands worked up his naked back. "You know I'm sensitive there." She liked how he would slowly kiss her neck she didn't know why she just did.

"Well since I'm the only one that knows that the mighty Supergirl has a few other weaknesses other then magic and kryptonite might as well use them to my advantage." He said as he then kissed her lips and she moaned slightly as she responded.

"Damn it," She said under her breath feeling herself getting warmer. "Okay I give for now but just a quick one okay? I don't want to be late again."

He smiled at her as she helped her out of her clothing as she did the same, they threw their wet clothing out of the shower as the steamy water covered them as they enjoyed each other in the early morning as young lovers only could.

**-Cadmus Facility-**

In one of the many large facilities a powerful woman named Amanda Waller walked down the halls. Although slightly short and overweight and having no super powers she was a woman not to take lightly. She ran Project Cadmus like one of the world's best generals and she kept a tight lease on everyone there. The dark skinned woman always wore a power suit and her closely cropped to her head, she gave off an all business look and her demeanour spoke volumes to anyone that looked at her.

Currently she was going to a meeting in the large metallic facility, her high heels echoing off the metal floor as she made her way to meet up with Professor Hamilton who was looking over a new experiment. The new project named Genesis was going well and she had to admit that new member Doctor Otto Octavius was working out well, although she still kept him under close observation.

She didn't trust that man he was a criminal after all but he was a smart one that she needed. She came up to the security room and pressed in her personal security code. The large metal doors opened up and she walked into a large room filled with computers and tables with genetic equipment. There looking through a monitor was Hamilton as he was stroking his goatee.

"Professor how is Project Genesis coming along?" She more demanded then asked of him.

The Professor was always nervous around the woman mainly because he knew just how dangerous she really was. He steadied himself as he prepared his report, "We're ahead of schedule Miss Waller, thanks to the insights of Doctor Octavius we learned much."

He pressed a button and the monitors changed to various holding tanks were strange forms were growing. "With the DNA we collected we have been able to create and in some cases modify the coding. With accelerated growth the first patch should be ready soon."

"The first one was easy as Octavius has plenty of experience with that DNA so he was easy to do thankfully since DNA that is mixed in with animal DNA is hard to manipulate without there being problems. The aliens are doing well, the female alien Thanagarian DNA is working out well although we're running into problems with the Kryptonian. As you know Galatea was a fluke, as you know with Luthor's experiments making Bizzarro the only living Superman clone."

"Have you managed to make the Galatea backups?" She asked him.

"Well we've stopped trying to reclone Supergirl with her own DNA and we're using Galatea's since she's stable. With her we're getting better results but since we're cloning a clone we have to be careful. She has no idea that she is being cloned in case she goes rogue and has to be stopped and replaced."

Hamilton knew that Galatea saw her as a father figure but truthfully he was scared of her if she was unstable she could easily kill him, ever since that day with Superman he could never see these people as safe. They all were dangerous and needed to be checked or else who was to say what could happen? Like when those Justice Lords showed up for a second time it was only further proof of what could happen.

"The other one well...We had to splice in the human DNA for it to work but it's showing progress but we've had to slow down the development to make him stable."

Amanda went to the monitor looking at the tanks. "And how is our 'Frankenstein' project?"

"Ah yes him..." The Professor rubbed his tired eyes. "It's been proving difficult we've never tried anything like this before. At least with the Ultimen we had basic success with them and their powers but as you know they were too unstable."

Sadly those teens were no longer alive they had died some time ago with the exception of Longshadow who was now with the League. Apparently they were able to find a way to cure his genetic condition and although Waller knew of it the Ultimen proved to be too unstable and untrustworthy so they were terminated. They still had their genetic codes as backup just in case but now they were moving on with a new direction as with the new help and insights their cloning technology was now better then ever.

"So far he's growing well although as you know we've had several failures," He told her as he pulled up the data. "I do warn you that I think we should terminate this one and keep trying, there was a slight problem with the start but even though we've managed to stop it the genetic code might have been damaged in some way. This could lead to anything from birth defects to even mental disabilities."

Waller looked at the floating figure in the tank on the large screen and the data surrounding it. "I don't see any physical problems but if there is and only if there is any evidence of genetic anomalies you will terminate this and try again. But I warn you Professor this is an expensive and very long process I don't want you jumping any guns."

He nodded his head in understanding and watched as she looked over the figure again on the screen it wasn't totally formed yet but you could see a humanoid figure slowly growing. "And how is the Guardian Project working out?"

Hamilton was eager to change the subject as he brought up various images and profiles. "We've finally reached a conclusion on who to use. This is James Jacob "Jim" Harper," and image of an elderly man appeared as well as various other ones. There was him only younger in a police uniform that was now out of date as well as him even younger doing gymnastics. There were various records even one from the second world war as well.

"This man was a great athlete in his day excelling in gymnastics and later joined up with the army in the second world war, as you can see he has a very good record and has seen battle. He also led a type of 'neighbourhood watch' program if you will mainly he and a group kept the peace in the rundown ghetto Metropolis called 'Suicide Slums' and actually did a fair job of it. Later on he joined the police and had a great career."

"Although now an old man he would be perfect for the Guardian Project, with cloning him a new body and even enhancing it we can put his mind into that new body and give him a new lease on life."

Waller looked through the data and she had to admit after all the thousands of people they looked at this was the most promising. The military background would go over well with the General as he would enjoy that and that also meant this man knew a thing about following orders and discipline as well. Qualities that she insisted that they look for, and the natural physical abilities would help with the clone body. Then there was some need to do good in the world, with a few choice words and with her applying her usual persuasive abilities she could make him see Cadmus as the right choice.

After all their primary mission was to safeguard the world and just by looking at this she could tell that that a man like this wouldn't be able to just sit back and let death take him. If there was a chance at a new life he would jump at it. Looking through it some more she found that he had no surviving relatives which would only make her offer even better a man with no family of his own had regrets and the wish to go back and change things.

"I agree," Waller finally said as she closed down the window on the screen. "Give me a full report on this man and I'll get in touch with him myself. I think we may have found the leader for the little team we're putting together."

-Elsewhere-

In another part of the complex along in a large lab that was filled with equipment most scientists would sell their soul for was a built man with dark shades covering his eyes and shortly cut brown hair. This was Otto Octavius also known to at least two worlds as Doctor Octopus. He too had been pulled into this world only he had been fortunate to be pulled into the lab of the two scientists that had pulled him to this world. He had spent time with them learning their secrets and in the end to protect himself he had to get rid of the two of them and make it look like they had died in an accident.

During his time in this world he had come up with a plan that had nearly destroyed the League and had almost ended his feud with Peter Parker with his death but once again he had gotten out of it. And he had lost his precious metallic arms once again. He sighed as he thought about them, for a time he had controlled those arms and anything metal with a power he gained in that accident that he had kept secret for a long time.

But after his defeat at the hands of Peter and that female clone he made of him named Jessice Drew he had been turned over to SHIELD and Fury had placed a device in his brain that stopped those powers. He did find that he could still use that small chip in his brain to link a new set of arms to his mind. With that he could recreate his abilities with his metallic arms and they were apart of him like real flesh and blood limbs. But when he had been defeated that dark haired girl named Wonder Girl broke his arms and they were taken from him.

But oh what irony fate can play, just when he was contemplating his own escape from prison Waller showed up and offered him a job. He knew that she didn't trust him but she also needed him, he had been working on their cloning experiments as he himself had similar program once under the CIA. Now he was back in government work making clones, the irony of how he had come full circle made him laugh at times. But here he was once more on 'the side of the angels' as it were, and he had to admit these people made his time in the CIA look like a joke.

They had technology here that even SHIELD would want if they could and they didn't debate the 'ethics' of their research or the use of them either which untied his hands greatly. Although he was no fool, they didn't let him out of the facility for starters, oh they said it was for security reasons but he knew they didn't trust him out in the world and they would be right after all. He also knew that the cameras in this place were always looking at him at some point just to be sure he was where he was supposed to be but he would live with that. He got to continue his work, his genius and it was all worth it, plus there was the fact that his helping Cadmus would make life harder for those in the League and even Spider-Man as well.

It was one of the perks to this, he can help make his life miserable and still not be touched by the law. It was also added incentive for him to help in making that little team of theirs. He made a request himself for a personal clone of his own making to be put onto that team and in a way he wished he could see Peter's face when he realized who or maybe what he was fighting. Of course Peter would see if he was in jail given and then find out he wasn't but there was nothing Parker could do to touch him. Hell he wouldn't even be able to find this place and all he had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.

Oh how glorious it will be, of course he wasn't a fool either. He knew that as soon as his usefulness was over with it was back to that dark hole of a cell that he had been put into. Well he wasn't having any of that, he had plans of his own and it was time to see who was the more cleaver. Himself or Waller and in the end one of them would be victorious while the other was crushed under the foot of the other. It made Otto smile a bit finding someone with the intelligence to go head to head with him was a challenge of a lifetime and he knew Waller wouldn't disappoint him.

He looked at the camera and gave a nod and a small wave he knew that Waller would see that image eventually and he wanted a silent message to pass between them. 'Let the games begin.' He thought to himself as he went back to work after all he still had work to do besides his own little plans.

**Next up Chapter 2: Back to Gotham**


	2. Back to Gotham

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 2: Back to Gotham**

Bruce was sitting in his cave again which wasn't unusual, in his Batman gear working on his large and powerful computer. He had lost track of time but then again he normally did that too. Currently there were several criminals at large that were showing the signs of banding together, maybe another version of the Secret Society or something similar. In any case this was bad for a lot of people, when these types were on their own that was bad enough but when they got together that's when things really got bad. It was also one of the reasons why the League was formed and why he joined, the world was bigger then just Gotham at times.

But then that was another problem he was facing, there were still a few of his enemies on the loose, Tim was with the New Teen Titans learning things with a group his own age. He remembered when Dick left to lead that team he had come back grown and even better then before. So Bruce hoped that this would be a good experience for Tim as well, the new Titans were being led by three of the old members Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy.

Although with Tim gone lately he had been putting Dick and Barbara a little more stress with added burdens. His time with the League cut into his time in Gotham. And he was needed at the moment in the League to deal with this new threat he sat back in deep thought wondering what to do about this. It wasn't like he could be in two places at once, so his options was to either back out of this mission leaving the League short of his skills or leave Gotham with only two defenders. He did trust Batgirl and Nightwing but as things were they could use a little extra help.

He heard the elevator and then the footsteps of Alfred he knew those sounds like the back of his hand besides he was the only one that wore those fancy shoes of his and they made that distinct sound on the stone floor. "Well Master Bruce toiling away again I see, it's a wonder how you manage to do Bruce Wayne, Batman and part of the League."

"Easy I don't sleep for days some times," Bruce only half joked as that was the case and Alfred knew this as well. "But I have to go and I don't want to leave Dick and Barbara short handed."

"You know sir you have all these friends in this League don't you trust any of them to help pull the weight now and then?" He asked the young man he had helped to raise almost like his own son.

Bruce thought about it, he didn't like others in his territory but for something like this he could use a bit of help. Huntress was a possibility although she was a bit more then willing to cross that line of murder then he was comfortable with. She needed to temper herself she was too angry but she had a lot of potential. Although at the moment he wasn't sure where she was, she seemed to be on some sort of personal mission lately.

He thought of the others but the main core of the League were already busy, J'onn was running things, Superman and Green Lantern were leading a team off world, Shayera was also leading a group at the moment herself. And from what he heard Diana had her own issues at the moment, with the brothers Hawk and Dove. Flash was currently doing his own patrols in his own city. That meant that mostly everyone he trusted was too busy to help out and he didn't trust any of the other members to fill in not in his city at least. Then his thoughts turned to someone else he trusted, and he gave it a long and hard thought.

He had been to Gotham and helped out before and with someone like Nightwing at his side the two of them could help out. Batman looked at all the angles and it was the logical choice and besides with luck maybe he could deal with this problem quickly enough to get back before anything major happened. "Alfred I think I may have someone in mind."

**-New York-**

Peter was just swinging through New York just doing a simple pass through a few areas. He had just finished up with his last class of the day and wanted to go out swinging for a bit. So far things were going well although he did wonder when the other show would drop it was just his luck, Kara said he was just being paranoid but he knew better. But he pushed that aside for the moment, swinging over New York always relaxed him add to the fact that he also liked helping others as well.

He was currently in the middle of Manhattan when his JL earpiece went off, "Spider-Man." Came Batman's voice it nearly made Peter lose his concentration it was still weird for him to have that thing in his ear when in costume and for people to suddenly call him up.

Peter landed on a roof top before he could answer the man, "Hey there what's up?"

Peter was actually surprised that Bruce called him, they hadn't really talked after that little argument they had in the cave. Later he had said he was sorry about it but Bruce just shrugged it off not being the kind of guy to get into the more touchy feely type of things. Things weren't strain but Batman like always seemed to keep people at a distance and it kind of worried Peter.

The man was so serious all the time and seemed to have cut himself off from even considering a few things in life, in particular a certain Amazon. Donna Troy a good friend to Peter and Diana's little sister already confirmed that Diana had feelings for the Dark Knight but so far Bruce didn't seem to want to return them. It was thought that he had feelings for her as well but kept shutting them out. Peter could understand, letting someone in only brought pain sometimes and he knew that from experience. But it also brought great joy and he hoped that Bruce would at least try to open up before he ended up alone.

"I need your assistance in Gotham for a bit, can you handle doing a few patrols while I'm off with the League?" Batman asked and there was an unnaturally long pause. "Spider-Man are you still there?"

"Huh? Oh yeah sorry just kind of in shock," Peter sat down dumbfounded that Bruce would ask him that. "Well...it's the weekend coming up and I think Supergirl and Wonder Girl both in the city I can take a break. You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," came the replay and Bruce then started to give him a very long lecture on things he had to remember for when in Gotham. Peter tried to remember it all but in all honestly he was kind of bored, he started to swing on home as he listened in, putting in a small comment here and there to make him think that he was still listening. Peter was always surprised by how much detail Bruce put into everything. By the time Peter was finally let go half an hour had passed and he was glad it was over, he would do his best to remember all that Bruce told him to do but he did have his own style and it was different then Batman's.

When he got back home he found Kara was there putting on her costume, after a little tender 'hello' between the two he filled her in on what Bruce asked him. She was just as surprised as he had been at that, since Batman asking for help was a rare thing although Peter was at the bottom of the list he had considered that fact he was on the list an honour.

"So basically I'm going to do a few patrols to help keep things inline most likely I'll be working with Dick and Barbara again." Peter said now sitting on the couch with his mask off relaxing.

Kara was sitting next to him and had a thoughtful look on her face that slowly broke into a sly smile. "Working with both of them huh?"

"Oh no I know that look and I'm telling you now I'm saying 'no' to you." Peter backed up on the couch and pointed a finger at her. She gave him one of those innocent looks but he wasn't having it, he knew her well enough to notice a few things about her and that look in her eyes was one of them. "I am not, I repeat not getting involved in the whole Nightwing and Batgirl thing Kara."

"Oh come on I know they still have feelings for each other and Barbara is my friend I just want her happy like I am." She insisted.

Peter crossed his arms, "And I still say no, if they wanted to get back together then let them work it out on their own." From Kara he knew that Batgirl and Nightwing had dated back when Dick was still Robin while in University but they had a falling out. He also had one with Bruce and that was when he changed into Nightwing and it wasn't until a couple of years ago that Dick started to forgive Bruce for whatever caused the split and the two were slowly coming to terms with each other.

Dick was friends with Barbara but they hadn't gone over that bridge yet of getting back together again and no one was sure if they would. Peter didn't want to get involved in this, it would end badly most likely in his face he just knew it and if either of the two figured out what he was up to...well both had been trained by Batman and so that meant that they could most likely give him a really good ass kicking if they wanted to.

"Kara why not just talk Barbara yourself to get her into breaking the ice with Dick about getting back together with him?" He asked hoping to change the conversation to another angle to get him off the hook.

"Tried it, she's too afraid that it will ruin their friendship and she's not sure what Dick's feelings are. And besides you haven't known her as long as I have she has a stubborn streak that is nearly as big as Bruce's." She crawled a bit closer to him acting all sweat and gentle and trailing a finger over his chest. "Come on just see what Dick thinks of Babs and if he still cares and maybe if you can see if you can steer him into maybe thinking about trying it out again."

Peter hated it when she got like this, going all sexy and cute on him trying to manipulate him to her side well it wasn't going to work this time, he wouldn't let it. He gently pushed aside her hand, "Kara I already said no please let them work it out. I mean maybe they aren't meant for each other but if they are then let nature takes it course."

Now Kara was getting a little pissed at this as she stood up and placed her hands on her hips and Peter knew he was getting into more trouble now, his spider-sense wasn't going off but this type of danger he didn't need it to know any man could detect this kind of danger. For a moment he wondered if jumping out the nearest window and crashing at someone else's place might be best until this got out of her system.

He knew Flash would put him up after all but then scratched the idea first off it was stupid and secondly with her speed he would only make it halfway across the room before she caught him.

"Peter Parker I'm just asking you to help out one of my closest friends and maybe help two people find love again and you think that's a bad idea?" She said angrily and Peter winced despite himself, super villains he can handle an angry girlfriend well that was something he really didn't like to tackle.

"Kara it's not that and you know it I just can't meddle it's not me and I suck at it." He pleaded.

Kara wasn't having any of it though she wasn't going to give up that easily. "Peter I'm just asking for a favour from you, please? For Me?" She said trying to give him the soft doe like blue eyes to help sell it to him and to make him break but so far Peter was putting up a real fight and she was running out of tricks to use on him when that didn't work either.

"Kara there is nothing on Earth you can say to make me try this out, it's insane." But then she got a look on her face as she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow as something came up and Peter was a bit nervous in what exactly she was thinking, he didn't have to wait long until she told him her answer to what he had just said to her.

**-The Batcave-**

Peter materialized out of the energy field as he reformed into Bruce's lair not in the best of moods. 'Do it or you'll never see me naked again for two months. I can't believe she threatened that to me,' He thought to himself as he walked towards the giant computer. 'And of course I have to cave, stupid young hormones. I didn't use to have this kind of problem, why is it women can use sex against us guys and yet we can't use it on them? It's got to be a conspiracy...Maybe I'll ask Question to look into it then he's good at that kind of thing.'

Peter sighed and looked around the place it was still the same dark and spooky place as last time filled with all kinds of trophies that made it look like some warped museum. Although if a bit strange even by his standards he had to admit it was pretty cool, although he still wondered how the hell he got that dinosaur and giant coin down in here. "Yo anyone home?"

He heard the echo and so far just dead air so he walked to the computer and saw the seat was empty. Peter just shrugged and sat down with his feet up near the keyboards as she stretched out. "You know for a control freak you'd think he would be more on time."

"He had to leave so he called me to meet you." Came a voice from behind making Peter jumped off the chair and turn around quickly. He was looking into the smirking face of Nightwing AKA Dick Grayson the first Robin. Peter glared under his mask, he hadn't heard a sound and it was obvious where Dick learned that trick from.

"Okay just so you know that whole appear out of the shadows and scare the crap out of people is really annoying even when Bruce does it." Peter said to the older man who smiled broadly at that.

"Yeah but it's fun to do," Dick said to him, even though he only met Peter once he liked the young man. Kind of reminded him of himself if slightly more chatty and a bit more geeky in the intelligence way at least. But it was nice to hang out and work with someone closer to his own age, sure Tim was cool and all but he was like a little brother to Dick. "So then the old man fill you in?"

Peter rolled his eyes under his mask he had over two hours of instructions with Bruce before he came here. "Yeah help out, don't screw up and basically don't get comfortable because he's coming back and then I'm back to New York, yadda, yadda, yadda, etcetera, etcetera, ad nausea."

Dick nearly laughed out loud at that, Peter was one of a only a handful of people that could joke about Bruce the only other was Flash but Peter went the extra yard and even joked right in the old man's face which either showed a lot of guts or a death wish. The jury was still out on which one Peter was but so far Dick thought he was borderline at the moment. "Anyways so far the ones that are still lose are Mad Hatter, he's not too bad just be careful of the mind controlled people he likes to employ."

"Right pull the punches on the zombies, next?" He asked as Dick brought up the bios on the people that were lose.

"Next is the Joker who I believe you met before."

"Oh you mean Laughing Boy is back? Man you know I really hate clowns now after that guy, and mimes...well I always hated mimes but more so now but at least mimes are quiet so they got that going for him." Peter said.

"This character is called Killer Croc." Dick showed an image of a man that looked half human and half reptile. For a moment Peter remembered The Lizard and was already thinking of a few things from those fights to use in this one although he seemed to be more bulky and less agile but appearances could be deceiving. "And last but not least is Bane."

An image of a very large man in black leather showed up on the screen.

"Whoa..." Peter looked at image, "This guy looks like a cross between the cover boy for steroid monthly and the house of pain fetish club with that black leather gimp suit."

Dick raised an eyebrow at that last bit, "Yeah well you're half right he uses a chemical that enhances his strength beyond that of a normal human called venom...you okay?" He noticed Peter stiffen at the word Venom and Peter just shook it off and said it was nothing. Dick didn't know about Peter's old foe who called himself Venom, an old childhood friend that was so far gone being taken over by the black suit that their fathers created and was now sitting in a SHIELD prison for life somewhere.

"So then where do we start? And where is Batgirl?" Peter asked looking around.

"She's tracking down leads but we have to hit a few other places as well so we split up." Nightwing got off the computer and went to the motorcycle that was parked. "So you're stuck with me for the night."

Peter looked at the bike and even though cool he wasn't sure that the image of him riding on the back with a buy in spandex would look good. "What I don't get my own ride?"

"You got a licence?" Peter actually didn't have a license, living in New York he just swung everywhere since traffic was a nightmare and parking was hard to find. Besides when did he have the time for that? It was kind of funny in a way he had learned how to work and fly one of the Javelins but he still didn't know how to drive a car yet.

With no answer Dick shook his head and threw him a helmet. "Get on, you can jump off when we reach the city if you're that uncomfortable."

Peter muttered something under his mask as he put on the helmet. 'This is so unmacho that it's not even funny.' He thought as he got on. 'Oh yeah, Kara owes me big on this one.'

**Next up Chapter 3: On the Prowl**


	3. On the Prowl

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 3: On the Prowl**

Peter had gotten off the bike as soon as he could as he easily followed Dick Grayson AKA Nightwing through Gotham. They had hit a few places that were the very definition of a dive, dank and dangerous atmosphere with people that looked like they belonged on America's Most Wanted and for as far as Peter knew, they were. He also learned that Dick had learned the art of intimidation from Bruce, the guy was nearly as scary as the Dark Knight himself. Peter just stayed as backup while Nightwing did the questioning that was never Peter's strong point anyway, so he just watched Nightwing's back.

Currently Nightwing had a large scruffy looking man pinned to a pool table with a pool stick at his throat. The majority of the other in the bar, were either on the ground in pain, or they were doing their best to keep out of the way. "Okay I'm going to ask you one more time Pauly and don't give me that 'I don't know' thing either. You know that I know that you have your ear to the ground or have a finger in a lot of things." Nightwing offered.

"Yeah and if you don't we'll pants you and hang you up outside down at your mothers." Peter offered getting a look from Nightwing. "Okay shutting up."

Nightwing removed the pool stick, Pauly started to cough as he started to breath again. "Look I don't know exactly where those freaks are." He saw Nightwing place the tip of the stick against his chest. "But I heard that Hatter is in the lower east side looking for a new place to crash. That's all I swear the others are laying low."

"Alright but if I find out you're laying I'll be back," Nightwing threw the stick aside as he and Peter left the place. Peter had to admit that Dick could really be intimidating when he wanted to be.

"So now what?" Peter asked.

"Well we can wait for Batgirl to see if she had anything or hit another place." Dick offered.

"Man this is the fifth place we hit, how many does it usually take?" He asked Dick.

Nightwing ran a hand through his mullet, "Hard to say although they are really underground. Usually we find at least a clue by now, but they're being extra careful it seems."

Peter didn't like that he rather just find something but then again he wasn't really skilled as a detective. He also had been trying to avoid trying to get Dick to open up about his feelings for Barbara, he knew they used to date and all although he wasn't sure how sore a subject it was. He remembered when he had broken up with Kitty and that hadn't exactly been great. Hell she had avoided him for months after that. "So...what's up with you and her anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

Peter tried to think of a way to do this the right way, "Well you two were an item right? If you don't mind me asking what happened? Cause from what I know she's one hell of a woman so I guess something bad to break things up."

Dick sighed and nodded, "Yeah well there were...complications. Let's just say that we had a great time and then life happened."

Peter knew that Dick didn't want to open up whatever really happened, after all what guy did want to bring up painful subjects like that. "Sorry man to bring it up, been there myself and it sucks. At least in the end with one of my old girlfriends I got to get back to good terms with."

Nightwing nodded his head, he was glad to still have Barbara in his life although a part of him always wondered if there could be more. But he'd had his heart broken before and then when he finally got to the point where he could move on, he was with Babs and then it all ended so badly. It was the worst breakup he ever had and it still stung. Dick just couldn't understand why the women in his life seemed to break his heart, he had two great loves of his life and so far, and both didn't end well.

Well the first one he was young and she had to leave, he had even offered to go with her but his place had been here. The thing was he still wondered about her and what she was doing, you never forget your first love and for a moment he spaced out thinking about her, about Starfire. He had left as a teenager to be on his own and ended up forming the original Teen Titans instead. Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy and of course Starfire, he missed those days with them and their friendship. Then it ended all one day, the others were back together as they were leading a new team but as for Starfire.

She had to return to her home world to lead her people as they were being invaded. It was an all out war and she needed to go home and fight for her people. Dick remembered that day she had to leave, he was so angry that he nearly broke the training room that they had to stay behind. Then she came to him and they had one of those long heart felt talks. She was needed in space and he was still needed on Earth, she promised she would come back one day that she would always love him no matter what.

He tried to keep on going with the team and all but after she left his heart just wasn't in it anymore. He tried his best but he wasn't himself and he had to step down. He eventually went back to Gotham to go back to his roots and try to pick up the pieces of his life. He had too, he went to college and got a degree, dated Barbara and nearly thought of marrying her but then once again life screwed him over.

Peter noticed how quiet Dick had gotten and guessed that there was a lot of history here that he just stepped in, he was about to think of something to say when he noticed the bat signal in the sky.

"Hey I think they aren't laying low anymore man." Spider-Man said. Dick looked at him with a questioning look, and so Peter pointed up and then Nightwing noticed the signal in the sky.

Peter looked to Dick and grinned under his mask, "Race you there."

And despite himself, Dick smiled, "You're on."

**-Watchtower-**

In the Watchtower where many of earth's heroes now worked together to keep the world save, there was a bit of a training session in the large gym area. There in red tights and matching muscle shirt was the younger sister of Diana, Donna. She had also taken the last name of Troy to help establish an identity for this world and she liked the last name. She was currently training one of the youngest members of the League Stargirl.

The young sixteen year old, Courtney Whitmore had long blond hair and blue eyes, she was often compared as a younger looking Supergirl, something she really didn't like. She was out of her red, white and blue uniform as she was in shorts, a t-shirt and her hair tied back. She had asked for more physical training and Donna was all too happy to do it. Although for the past month she got a lot of bruises because of it, and Courtney had a whole new view on how Amazons train.

"Okay now come at me again and remember to keep your focus and your balance." Donna instructed.

Stargirl took a breath and tried to think this one through, given he had no super powers only what her staff and belt gave her, she felt that she needed to train and this was one of those reasons. Without her gear she needed to know how to fight better, after all she had lost her staff a few times in battle and she had to go and get it which didn't help her team mates.

So here she was learning the hard way how to better her fighting skills. She looked at Donna trying to find any kind of weakness but as far as she could tell the older girl wasn't leaving any opening, not surprising given she had trained for who knows how long on that island of hers. Courtney tried to think and if she couldn't see an opening, then she would just have to make one. She quickly sent out a snap kick as Donna raised an arm to block it, then Courtney quickly sent another to the mid section, took a step forward, pivoted and with her other leg made for a side kick forcing Wonder Girl back a step.

This is was she wanted, to have the other woman moving. Courtney quickly jumped forward with another kick, she was glad that she had a good reach with her legs as she managed to just tag the other girl in the shoulder. Donna took the blow and spun around but still in a fighting position and with a smile.

"Good Courtney you're getting better there, just remember one thing though." Donna said to the blond.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Never stop and give your opponent a change to attack back," Donna quickly moved forward as Courtney had made the mistake of not taking a step back after her combo. Donna took advantage of that and moved in close, she gripped her by her shirt and moved one of her legs behind Courtney's and kicked the blonde's leg out and with her hand forced her back onto the mate.

"Ow." Stargirl muttered as she caught her breath and was helped up by the slightly older raven haired girl. "Okay...No letting up, got ya. Ow...Can we take a break?"

"Sure," Donna agreed as they went to a bench. They each took a sip of bottled water they had taken as they relaxed. "You should be proud of how far you've come, you have a true fighting spirit maybe I should take you to Themesycra, I think you would fit in nicely there."

"Really? Cool, although I'd have to ask Pat first." She sighed.

"Pat?"

"STRIPE." She told him the name of Pat Dugan.

"Oh, he is your father is he not?" Donna had heard of that and it was nice for a father and daughter to work together.

"Step-father," She said a bit coldly, she didn't mind Pat really but he wasn't her real father. Plus the fact he had moved them away from her home of LA and how protective he was of her, but still he made her mother happy and he wasn't too bad of a guy.

"You do not like him?" Donna asked curious.

Courtney thought about it, "Well...He's just kind of overprotective at times and we don't only see eye to eye but all in all he's a good guy I suppose. It's just kind of hard, he only married my mom a couple of years ago so I'm still getting used to him as being my new father figure."

Donna thought about it and she wondered herself how would she react if her mother-even though she doubted it-would have married someone? She guessed even she wouldn't accept whoever it was right away. "Well I think you're lucky at any rate, I've met him and he is a good man and also I've never had a father so I don't know what its like to have one."

"You don't?" Stargirl knew that there were no men on the island and all but she figured that at one point there had to be or something, how else did the Amazons get born?

"My sister and myself were formed from clay by our mother, then given life by the gods." Donna got a bit of a perverse pleasure at the shocked expression on the girl's face and couldn't help but smile.

"Whoa I didn't know that." She literally didn't know what to say to something like that, and guessed it was time to try and change the subject. It was kind of something she didn't want to talk about anyway. "Well one to something new, I'm glad you're helping me out. Plus it's nice to have someone closer to my own age around here, god at times I feel like a kid with all of these others around."

Donna nodded her head, as one of the youngest on the island she knew all too well how that felt. "Yes I know, but there are a few others."

"Yeah although I wouldn't mind if the League had a few others up here more." She smiled thinking of someone she would like to see more of around this place.

"Who do you have in mind?" Donna asked her.

"Well...you know those two heroes in Dakota? One of them is named Static and he's okay but I like his friend. The one they call Gear, he's a sweat guy, okay a bit of a brain but nice." Courtney also thought he was kind of cute as well. Too bad that those two usually spent their time in Dakota and were only on the reserve list of League members. She still remembered their first meeting when the new League formed and he left a nice impression on her.

Donna looked at the other girl with a knowing look, "Ah so you are attracted to him and want to peruse things with him."

Courtney shook her head, sometimes Donna was just a bit too upfront with things, but she guessed that was how you got living up on that island. She guessed they were all pretty open women there living together for centuries , just how long something could stay secret? "Yeah well he is kind of cute. What about you? Have you got any interests in any one here?"

Donna was surprised by the sudden turn but truthfully after Peter, she hadn't thought of it. It still stung a bit that her first crush had chosen another girl but she accepted it. "I..Hadn't thought of it to be honest."

"Oh?" Stargirl got a grin on her face. "How about that Longshadow guy then? You know the big stud there that you hang out with?"

"What about him?"

"Oh come on the guy is pretty hot and a nice guy, very rare to find a guy with both of those. You telling me you never thought about it?"

Donna was now, but Longshadow was her friend. She knew that he was alone in the world and didn't have anyone outside of the League, she knew how that was and so they hung out together a lot. Plus it was nice being with him but she had never thought about him romantically. Although as a male he was a prime specimen she did admit that.

"Well just think on it hell he might be interested you never know," Courtney stretched herself out feeling a few aches here and there. "Although I got to wonder...Just how 'big' he can make himself?"

It took Donna a few moments to get what Courtney was implying and she gasped at that, the blonde broke out into a fit of giggles at Donna's reaction and the other girl gave a light punch to the other's arm. They broke into a small bit of laughter before they returned to their training, although now a seed had been planted in Donna's mind and it would later grow. Her thoughts did turn to Long shadow now and then as Courtney's words echoed in her mind, but when the young blond managed to sent the young Amazon to the mat, she pushed them away and focused on Stargirl.

It had been the only time Courtney managed to nail Donna that day and ended up going home with a nasty limp.

**-Gotham-**

On the top of the police headquarters, Commissioner Gordon in his trademark brown coat adjusted his glasses, as he waited for someone who was both an old friend and a total mystery to him. In all the years he had worked with Batman he knew next to nothing of the man other then he would do anything to protect Gotham. It was strange, he considered Batman his good friend and yet he never knew the face under that mask, and he might never know. It was strange but in a way fitting.

Next to him was one of his best or worst detectives depending on how you look at things. Harvey Bullard was a man that didn't like costumed people patrolling the streets, he was a large, overweight man with looks that only a mother could love and a personality to match. But he was honest to the department and someone Gordon knew he could trust.

"You know I hate how long he makes us wait sometimes I think he does it on purpose." Harvey muttered to himself.

"He'll be here," Gordon simply replied.

"Yeah well he better show up soon. Don't know why we should call him anyway we can handle things we don't need no stupid freaks in masks to take on other freaks."

"Boy, feel the love off this guy." Suddenly came a new voice.

"What the!?" Harvey pulled out his service pistol from inside his long jacket to see no one there. He thought the voice sounded a bit familiar for some reason as well.

"Up here big boy."

Harvey looked up and for a moment was temped to shoot on site. Out of anyone he knew this was the last person he wanted to see, ever. Sitting there on a wall above him was that red and blue hero Spider-Man, he had only one meeting with the guy and already Harvey had a huge dislike for him.

"I aught to shoot." He muttered to himself.

Gordon was just as surprised, "I thought you moved to New York?"

Nightwing showed up out of the shadows, "He's helping out while Batman is on League business. Hope you don't mind it just being us for the night."

"Not at all son," Gordon preferred Batman but he also trusted those that he worked with. "At any rate we found this in a bank robbery. The place was hit by Joker and there were a few injuries, he used some type of damn silly putty that was like C4 to blow up the vault after he joker gassed the entire place first."

Dick narrowed his eyes as he looked at the note. The Joker's gas was no laughing matter. People had died from that stuff with a grin plastered onto their faces; some people had permanent nerve damage and had to get plastic surgery done to get their faces or mouths fixed. He turned his attention to the note as he read it over.

"So still eating up all the station's donuts huh?" Peter asked Harvey.

"That's it! Get down here so I can take that mask and shove it down your throat." Harvey glared at Spider-Man.

"You have a real anger management problem you know that?" Peter said staying right where he was, out of reach of the detective. "Where you not held much as a child or something? Kids mad fun of your weight? Didn't get laid until you were thirty? Come on give me a bone here."

"I'll give you a bone you little creep," Bullock shook his fist at the wall crawler. "I swear I'm going to rip that head off your shoulders and then I'm going to stuff it down your throat." He then went on to describe a few other very nasty and colourful things he was going to do.

Peter was kind of impressed with Bullocks knowledge of the human body, although he was sure a few of the things he said were physically impossible. At the end the detective was red faced and heaving.

"You done? Cause it looks like you're two curses away from a heart attack big boy, you need a vacation I mean a guy with your weight and stress? You'll end up having a heart attack or a stroke in a few months at this rate." He didn't know why, but railing Bullock up was just fun. Plus now the large man's face was actually turning a little shape of purple.

"Alright we're done here," Nightwing said hoping that Bullock didn't blow a vain in his skull or something. It was fun seeing that loud mouth detective get his, but they did have work to do. Although he did hope Peter dropped by more often, stuff like this was funny as hell.

Nightwing jumped off the roof as Peter followed, Bullock wasn't done with him yet and yelled a few more curses at him in the dead of night. When they got to a rooftop Peter asked about the letter.

"It said 'Got the party favours set up, got the gifts, and now I got the goods. Now I just need the guest, and all it set. Keep that smile a-going, and I'll keep-em a laughing.'" Dick said to him.

Peter had to admit, the Joker was still just as insane as he first met him. "Okay what does that mean...and why did that last bit sound familiar?"

Dick thought about it and that last bit did seem familiar, "You're right it does...Where did I hear that before?"

"Try Batgirl." Peter said and Dick radioed her in on what happened. She hadn't had much luck and was on the other side of town working her way towards them.

"Wait wasn't that the slogan for that company?" She said over the radio. "What was it called...Clowing Around Inc. I think."

"Oh yeah that party supply store," Peter snapped his fingers. "I remember that commercial from last month...Mainly cause it was so horrible."

Dick agreed it was although it did fit with Joker, with the clown connection and all. "Wait didn't they just go into a chapter 11 bankruptcy? I think I remember hearing about that on the news not too long ago, they are selling off a lot of their stuff now. Buildings and equipment...Barbara are you close to the cave?"

"Yes I am, and I know what you need. I'll get there and look up and see if anyone has been buying up properties in Gotham." She told them. They waited for her to reach the cave and start on her research, so far a few names did show up in the Gotham area, although on in particular showed up. Someone had bought one of the warehouses and some equipment in Gotham recently. The name of the buyer was Jack Harlequin.

"Jack as in a playing card?" Peter asked once they heard of that.

"And a Harlequin is also a type of clown and is what Harley Quinn's name is a rhyme of." Dick finished as things were fitting together. "I think we just found our clown."

Barbara gave them the address and they were off, she would meet up with them later on. Dick threw out a line as he and Peter swung off towards where the warehouse was listed. Tonight the three of them planned to take down the Joker and put him back away behind bars where he belonged.

**Next Up Chapter 4: Expect the Unexpected**


	4. Expect the Unexpected

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 4: Expect the Unexpected**

Peter and Dick were waiting for Barbara to show up, they had been looking around the factory building to check it out, so far there didn't seem to be anything going on. But then again both of them had been in this business long enough to know better. Since they had left a clue it was pretty easy to say that they were expecting Batman to show up.

So far they noticed a few ways in by the time Batgirl showed up, she landed onto the roof they were on not too far away. Peter looked over at Babs, normally he could see given that tight fitting uniform that Barbara wouldn't have problems with a love life, but then he remembered the kind of strain this kind of life had on the social side of your personal life. He also wondered why the hell Dick gave _that _up? He thought Batgirl was hot but he would never say that, Kara would kill him.

But still, he watched at the two got to talking, they were planning things out and Peter was trying to see if there was any spark there. He noticed that they did try and keep things professional, they weren't totally serious but he could pick up a little hint of something there. There was like this hidden layer between them, he tried to put it into words but it was kind of hard to describe. The best he could do was how he was when he had broken up with MJ that time, or after he and Kitty ended. There was just this unpleasant thing between them, like some kind of taboo you weren't suppose to talk about.

Peter fought the urge to sigh, he honestly wished that he was more insightful, or that at least Kara was here. She was better at this kind of thing anyway, besides if he could read women he would have had more success in his love life.

"So you really think the west side is the best way in?" Batgirl asked Nightwing as she was looking at the large structure.

"Looks that way," He said to her and then turned to Peter. "I think you should stick back, you surprised the Joker last time and trust me he would have learned his lesson with you."

"We did this last time and if I recall...I came to save the Bat-team's collective asses." Peter smirked under his mask. "So I think I'll go this time around, you never know."

"You're not exactly Mr. Stealth, especially in that costume," Batgirl pointed at the red and blue costume that Peter wore.

Peter looked down at it, sure enough he did tend to stick out in Gotham compared to the others that worked this city. He did have that black costume for a bit but that just led to unpleasant memories, with Eddie and how he turned into Venom. "Yeah okay...But aren't the Robin costumes bright red too?"

"You know I always wondered why Batman made the suit like that," Batgirl wondered. Sure it fit with the name, given that robins had that red breast on them, but it was kind of hard to stay concealed. The black cape would help but it was kind of flashy, given that Batman preferred to keep to the shadows and all that.

"You know there were times I think he made it like that so that I drew all the attention and fire," Dick grunted and then he looked at Peter. Peter noticed this and he really didn't like that look, it was a look he had seen General Fury give him once and after that episode that he didn't want to relived he learned to avoid those looks.

"Oh no, whatever you're thinking forget it." He flat out told Nightwing.

"Hey you didn't want to get left behind this time, so this time you go in front." Nightwing said.

Now Batgirl was grinning as she knew where Dick was going with this, "Come on, besides with you up front you can give us a warning with that spider-sense of yours. What's the point of having it if you don't use it?"

"I use it just fine thank you," Peter told her. "I prefer to let me know of threats I don't know are coming, not being your own personal trap detector."

"Spider-Man we really could use your help, now we could go about this a different way but honestly this way I think works for the best." Dick then started to explain how they would stick to the shadows, they would most likely be expecting Batman and Peter would be the wild card. He could easily dodge and escape anything they would have set up for the usual heroes of Gotham, plus it would be totally unexpected and would throw their game off.

After a few more minutes Peter had to admit the logic of it all, he hated it of course, but it was the best plan they had. In defeat he looked to the large and now very ominous looking building, he sighed just knowing that nothing good would come of this. He jumped off the building feeling the air rush around him and then fired a web line to a close building. Peter swung to the roof of the building and found the skylight entrance that he and Nightwing had found. He touched the glass and didn't feel any tingle from his spider sense, so he knew there was no alarm set up for this at least.

He easily broke open the simple lock with his strength and slipped into the darkness. He knew that Batgirl and Nightwing would be close by, he looked into the darkness it was hard to see and he slowly started a walk down the darkened halls.

After some time, Peter was starting to think that maybe they had guessed wrong, so far all he saw was a bunch of empty rooms, old equipment that didn't work, and a lot of nothing. He was starting to think that they should just pull out and look for the Joker elsewhere. He sighed to himself as he stopped for a moment.

"Okay let's see, I'm in a dark creepy building and so far nothing is going on? Why did I agree to this again? I could be in my home city, or better yet curled up on the couch with Kara watching a movie...or just curled up with said blond in one of our beds." He mused to himself thinking of being with the blond alien powerhouse in a not to family friendly setting. He put that aside, now was not the time for that although it sure was tempting.

'Damn it, it's those stupid male hormones that got me into this in the first place so knock it off!' He thought to himself.

Spider-Man was about to call it a night when he noticed something on the floor, he walked closer to it and saw it was a doll of all things. "Who would leave this here?"

He was about to pick it up when his spider sense kicked in, he jumped back and onto a wall just as it blew up into a cloud of green smoke. Then of course there was that insane laughter that he heard before. "Looks like I found him alright."

"Well I was expecting the Bat but I do admit that I've got a score to settle with you too, bug boy." The Joker laughed as the lights suddenly kicked in. Peter was blinded for a moment and then looked around, he was in a wide open area, by the looks of it, it was some type of loading dock/storage area. There were a few goons and there sitting in a chair on top of a platform behind some controls was the Joker. He noticed Harley was there with him as usual.

"Bug boy?" Spider-Man asked him, "Gee not like I've heard that a million times before, what's the matter can't come up with anything original anymore? Marcel Marceau is funnier then you." Peter hoped that he got the reference to the famous mime.

"What?" The Joker nearly snarled out at him. "You know beating me I can forgive but no one, and I mean NO one steals my shtick! I do the jokes here and not some amateur."

"Hey at least I'm funny." Spider-Man shot back at him. "Now then how about we get this party started shall we?" He jumped off the wall he had been on and lunched himself into the group, he landed on one of them, and kicked off sending him flying. Then while in the air he fired two web lines and using those, nailed two more of the gang members and pulled, smacking them together. Peter continued on fighting with inhuman speed, agility and strength. The Joker watched on as he battled his minions although he was getting a bit bored, it was a bit too one sided.

"You know I think this needs a little spicing up, what do you think Harley?"

The women in the red and black costume thought about it and snapped her fingers. "Oh I know just what this needs Mr. J. Babies!"

Peter heard Harley call out although he thought he heard wrong, that is until a strange laughing sound was heard and he noticed two hyenas were now in the fight. His eyes widened under his mask, he hadn't seen them, although there were plenty of areas to hide. He noticed the goons that were still able to walk moved away fast.

"Great just great, here I thought I'd just pummel laughing boy and I get to be on the next episode of Wild Kingdom." He managed to get out as he jumped out of the way of the lunging wild animals.

"Heads up!"

Peter heard Nightwing call out and this time jumped up, making a web line to the ceiling that he used to stay out of reach when two capsules landed by the hyenas, they blew up into a cloud of gas and when it cleared the two animals were fast asleep by knock out gas. Harley cried out to her pets as Joker looked as though bored. From the few shadows, Nightwing and Batgirl jumped out to face the mad clown.

"Well that's hardly sporting," Joker said getting up off his chair, "You know I had hoped for the Bat and not the side kicks. I went to oh so much trouble to lure him here, got everything set up, and...I brought the guests." He grinned at them all as he pushed a button. The large steel doors leading outside opened up as a large heavy truck pulled up to it. When it stopped the back opened up and out stepped Killer Croc, and Bane.

"I know I like to be a solo act, but what can I say? I wanted to share the fun this time," Joker went into a mad laugh as the two villains walked up to the heroes. Croc wasn't a big fan of Bane, after all first time they met he was put into a hospital bed, but then again this was his change to get the Bat, he could always take Bane out when he wasn't looking.

Bane didn't care about who he worked with, as long as he got what he wanted, he adjusted the device on his palm, he could feel the Venom flowing into him, his blood was like it was one fire, he felt alive, he felt powerful and he was going to break each one of these kids so there was nothing left. "You three should have stayed home tonight, but I guess it's too late for that."

Peter landed on the ground looking around, "Okay...how much trouble are we in? On a scale from one to ten?"

"Eleven," Batgirl said as Harley jumped down wanting a piece of the action herself.

"I'll take on Lizard-Boy," Nightwing whisper.

"I got clown-girl," Batgirl turned to face Harley.

"And I got...Oh crap you got to be kidding me," Peter noticed who he had left. "Anyone care to trade? Honestly I don't mind."

The other two heroes jumped at their opponents and Peter sighed, then with a shrug jumped towards Bane. Nightwing took out his fighting sticks as he dodged a swipe from the larger opponent, he countered with a few blows and then backed off. He knew that Croc had a tough skin and it would take time to wear him down, unless he could find something large and very heavy to drop on him.

"I'm going to enjoy this pretty boy," Croc turned to a piece of machinery and with his impressive strength lifted it, he hefted it over his head but he was too slow. Nightwing dug out a couple of small concussive explosives. He threw them right as Croc's wrists aiming for the weaker area of the limb. The force even with his tough skin sent pain through his nerves.

He yelled out in pain and then his eyes widened as he lost his grip, the heavy metal came crashing down on top of him. Nightwing grinned and was about to turn when he heard a groan and the shuffling and he looked back to see Croc move the heavy machine off of him. The large meta-human got up, rage and murder was in his cold eyes. His wrists were still stinging and his hands were barely working from the nerves still not working properly.

But for Croc he had other weapons, his powerful jaws could still tear the young man apart and his hands even though he couldn't make a fist the claws on them were still useful. He roared in bloodlust as he jumped towards Dick with a speed that most wouldn't think the large mutant was capable of. Dick was knocked onto his back and quickly managed to put his fighting sticks up, he made a cross of them as they held back the biting jaws that were just inches from his face.

Batgirl was already jumping with the grace of her natural acrobatic skills to avoid Harley who was just as quick and agile. Looking at the two women they moved in a beautiful dance that was almost too perfect not to be planned out. The two of them were equally matched as they moved with speed and grace, they dodged the other's attacks and then would follow it up with one of their own. Harley tried to get in close to Batgirl, while Batgirl at times tried to get a little distance to use batarangs or some other long range weapon in her arsenal.

Spider-Man was left with Bane as the large man sent a fist into the concrete floor that Peter had just jumped aside. He saw the fist actually go into the cement and then pulled out. "Great I get the human wrecking crew, well then come on you fetish freak, time for a spanking."

"Cute," Bane sneered as he tried to grab onto the smaller man, but it wasn't easy. Spider-Man was a lot more quick and agile then a normal human even Batman would have some trouble doing some of the moves Peter did almost naturally.

"Well how about we even things out a bit Mr. Steroid?" Spider-Man asked as he tried to fire a web line to where he saw the control device. He had asked Nightwing about a little more info on those that escaped while he and Nightwing had been looking for leads. From what he remembered if he took off that device then the venom supply would run out, turning the guy back into a runt of a man.

Bane however wasn't the stupid type, despite the generalization that those who were super strong lacked intelligence, he wasn't one of them. He saw the web line and quickly caught it, he grinned savagely as he pulled. Peter was caught off guard and was yanked forward as high speed, and right into the left fist of Bane. The blow hurt, in fact he was pretty sure it was a pretty decent shot to get onto his top ten of people that could kick his ass.

He hit a few old crates with a groan, trying to shake his head clear. 'Oh man...That guy has a wicked left hook. Mental note...Don't block his fists with your internal organs anymore.'

The Joker laughed on as he watched the three heroes, by now the rest of his gang were high tailing it, letting the major villains get their shots in, especially since a few of them couldn't get out without the help of their buddies. But then the Joker grew bored of things, he watched Nightwing take a nasty shot from Croc but the young hero came back with blows from his fighting sticks. Batgirl and Harley were still at it, only now they were on a few crates while fighting.

Harley got in a few good shots but Batgirl was the more experienced fighter and was starting to get a little headway in the battle. Spider-Man was still fighting Bane, he landed a few blows which actually staggered Bane. Enough for Spider-Man to jump onto the man's back and tried to rip out the feeding tube in the back of Bane's mask.

Bane managed to grab him and with a powerful swing slam Spider-Man into the ground. He then kicked the hero across the room, but Peter managed to stop himself by 'gripping' the floor. He hurt but he slowly got up already trying to think of a new battle plan.

But by the looks of things the heroes might actually get to the upper hand and the Joker wasn't a fan of that idea. Then he got a brilliant idea, at least to him it was. He had a crate filled with some of his favourite 'toys' and he had something that he wanted to try out.

He pulled out a large and strange looking device as he laughed to himself. "You know all the times I've been foiled by the Bat and his little clubhouse has always left me with egg on my face. So I thought it was time to return the favour."

He fired the strange weapon wildly, Peter was close enough to take the first dodge and as first he didn't know why his spider sense went off so much. It looked like just an egg, that is until it hit the floor and then exploded.

"Damn! What the hell are in those?" He yelled out as he had to dodge both Bane and the Joker's wild firing.

"A little nitro goes a long way," The Joker laughed firing like the mad man that he was. He didn't care if the others got in the crossfire, he was having too much fun. Explosions rocked the area, the more combustible materials caught fire, a few holes in the walls formed, and even the other villains had to take cover.

"Joker watch it!" Croc yelled out, he had nearly been hit by a stray shot but the Joker wasn't listening.

Spider-Man knew that he had to get that weapon out of the Joker's reach and he was the quickest of them. He jumped high up into the air and fired a web line to swing out to the clown. Joker saw him coming and tried to fire some more, but Peter was still agile in the air, and with mid-air acrobatics dodged the deadly eggs.

"You know Joker I think you're overcompensating for something with that large toy of yours," Spider-Man quipped as he managed to get close enough to dropkick the villain. The weapon dropped from his hands as he fell back into a railing.

The Joker still had on a grin on his face, "Well that wasn't nice, but to show I'm not the kind of guy to hold a grudge here's a gift." He reached in and threw out a grenade with a joker face painted on it. The Joker laughed as he threw himself off the side of the railing. Peter didn't see where he went he only tried to dodge the grenade by jumping the opposite way. There was a large explosion, and with Spider-Man in mid air the shockwave sent him flying into a large metallic support beam, he landed onto the ground dazed and a bit hurt.

Peter felt like he had been hit by a truck, repeatedly, with loud country music playing to add insult to injury. He looked up to see Bane grinning and it wasn't a nice grin either, there was a few fires now from the Joker and he could feel the heat of the place. He couldn't see Batgirl or Nightwing at the moment, but his focus was on the giant of the man walking towards him. "After I tear your head off I think I'll mount it. But first I think you need a little softening up."

"Man my internal organs are already tenderized, think you're job is done." Peter said as he tried to get up, he defiantly had a bruise rib or two at the moment, it was hard to breath.

Bane just gave a small laugh as he picked up a piece of metal that had been blown to scrap by the Joker. Peter got the impression that Bane wanted to play baseball, as him as the ball. Spider-Man got ready, he had a few moves planned out and was about to jump out of the way, and hope while in mid swing this time he could snag that control device and rip it off him.

Bane charged and took two feet, when green bolts of energy hit him in the side sending him flying. Peter blinked a few times not sure what happened. He looked over to the door where the truck had come in, it looked to be where the energy had come from. And there floating a few feet off the ground was a jaw dropping sight. It was a woman, and a very hot looking one, she had a body that could rival Wonder Woman's, strange green eyes, a mane of red fiery hair, orange skin, and in a kind of skimpy purple outfit.

"When I returned to this world, I went to look up my old friends," She spoke to Bane who was rising up. "And when I came here looking and heard the explosion I had a pretty fair idea of where to look. And it looks like I was right." She smiled to herself.

Peter looked around and saw Nightwing over Croc, the lizard human hybrid was out cold and Dick looked a little banged up, although the look on his face told Peter he knew this mysterious person. He could see Barbara had finished up with Harley putting on cuffs on the struggling woman, on the ground.

Bane got up, glad for another new comer, she seemed like a strong one and worthy of his time. "You know pretty one, I think I'm going to enjoy this fight whoever or whatever you are."

She wasn't phased by him at all as she took up a spot in front of him. "My name is Starfire and it is I who will enjoy this fiend."

**Next Up Chapter 5: Old Flame**


	5. Old Flame

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 5: Old Flame**

Peter watch as the hot looking orange woman went to town on Bane. He had to admit she was a powerhouse if he had to guess she could easily be around Kara's strength level which he knew was above his. Peter had been thrown off his game given Bane kept on enhancing his strength although by the looks of it Bane was nearing his limit as he grappled with her. "I will not be beaten by some woman."

"And I will not be beaten by the likes of you either." She said back gripping a wrist and attempting the throw him over her shoulder. He did but he spun in the air and landed on his feet, he grinned at her before kicking her in the stomach. The air went out of her lungs from the blow and he punched her in the side of the face. Unlike someone like Croc he knew how to fight.

Peter didn't like the looks of this and he decided to step in, "Well I think it's time for a little tag team action."

He jumped at the man's back with a drop kick, it staggered him as he was focused on Starfire, he turned around to meet Peter's fist with his face and a kick to the chest. He took the blows although they did hurt, but pain was something he learned to deal with. In those experiments that made him the man he was today he learned the ways of pain. He waited for Spider-Man to attack again, he now knew his timing for Spider-Man's attacks and would know when to strike.

Starfire got to her knees as she glared at the hulking brute and with righteous anger fired her eye beams at him. He grunted and looked at her, he hadn't expected her to recover so fast. He twisted to get into a fighting position to deal with both of them but he suddenly couldn't move his feet. Bane looked and found his feet were webbed to the ground.

"I think you should stick around right where you are big guy," Peter said to the villain. He jumped forward and gripped one of Bane's arms. "Get the other one and hold it still!"

Starfire didn't waste any time as she did as she was told, Bane struggled with them. Peter's feet were stuck to the floor so he couldn't pry him off, and Starfire was too strong to wretch his hand free. He was wondering what they had planned when he heard a whistling sound. He twisted his head just enough to catch a batarang flying through the air and slicing his cord.

"Nooo!" He cried out, he had forgotten about Batgirl and Nightwing. Batgirl had taken careful aim and when she saw that Peter had given them an opening she was the first to take it.

Bane thrashed around as much as he could, he could feel the Venom in his system fading and it hurt. His body and nerves were now filled with pain as the tissues and nerves shrunk back down. At least when he used the chemical the high it gave him made it bearable, but with this it was like a junkie going through weeks of withdraw in moments. Slowly the large man started to get weaker and weaker as his body got smaller.

Eventually he was the size of a normal man and was out cold, the transformation back to normal took its toll on Bane and both Spider-Man and Starfire let him fall to the floor. "Well that was a surprise." She said.

"Yeah no kidding, hey wait a minute were did laughing boy go?" Peter looked around to see no sign of Joker. Then a support beam fell near them as the building groaned in protest, the fires and damage were getting to be a bit much.

"Okay first let's get out of the building before we get a burning and crushing death, then we find Joker." Spider-Man said and there were no disagreements. Starfire picked up Croc given he was the heaviest and they gathered up the criminals and got out of the building. Later after leaving the villains tied up as the cops came, which was pretty easy for them to find the place the building was still burning, they all looked for Joker but so far he was nowhere in sight.

Peter just knew that when Batman heard of this and he will, he could just hear the little lecture about the Joker from him. Oh well he would deal with it, at least they captured a few of the others and with luck they could get out of them where the Joker was holding up and the loot they stole as well. But that was for another night, the Joker wouldn't stay quiet for long and they would be ready for him. But for the moment they had other issues to deal with mainly with the new person that had showed up that night.

They were now on one of the rooftops near the burning building, fire trucks already had it under control and the fire wasn't spreading thankfully. Dick was kind of at a loss he never thought that he would see Starfire again when she left and now here she was. A part of him was still angry with how she had to leave him, but another part was glad that she was okay and another couldn't help but notice how much of a woman she had grown into. The cute teen he had fell in love with was now a woman and there was something else.

"So Starfire was it?" Spider-Man asked the tall woman. "You sure came in at just the right moment, but I got to ask why you're in Gotham? From what I know there hasn't been any strong orange women around this area. And I'm pretty sure people would have notice someone like you flying around."

She gave a small smile, "You remind me of an old friend."

"Yeah he kind of is like Garfield huh?" Dick smiled, "Only trust me think of Gar with Vic's smarts and throw in a little of Raven's more darker past and you pretty much get Spider-Man."

She seemed to nod in understanding, although both Peter and Barbara shared a puzzled look and just shrugged. They didn't have any idea what they were talking about although it was evident that these two knew each other, and had the same friends.

"So how did you know where to find me?" Dick asked her.

"The others said you were here and well with the explosion and fire it was pretty easy to figure out. You always did like to make an entrance and leave a very large impression," She smiled at him and he grinned back a little.

"Well I kind of toned down a bit, one of the drawbacks of getting older." He told her and she actually gave a small giggle at that. She didn't see anything wrong with getting older in fact he looked even better than he had as a teenager. He was taller now although she still held a couple of inches on him, but he had filled out into a man.

"So then I take it you two got a history?" Barbara asked judging the other woman. There was just something she felt was off, it was how Dick was around this woman he was more relaxed around her for some reason.

"Yes Rob-I mean...Nightwing," Starfire had been told by the Titans that Dick had changed his name a few years back. "We were together on the original Teen Titans. He was one of my first friends and...well..." She blushed at this point as dick grinned to himself.

"Hold on, you two..." Peter said putting it together pointing between them.

"Yeah Starfire was my first girlfriend and the first girl I fell in love with," Nightwing admitted. Then his face grew a bit more serious.

"But she had to leave, her home world was under an invasion and she had to protect her people. I haven't seen or heard from her in years...Star I thought you had died out there."

Her face grew a bit more painful now, "I'm sorry...I...You know that we couldn't be together then. I had my responsibilities as the Princess of my people. And you're place was needed here...That was the hardest thing I had done and...I cried myself to sleep for a whole cycle after it."

"It was so horrible...I've been in battle but a war...I saw things that I will never forget." She turned away and hugged herself the memories were still fresh. "We fought for so long, and lost so many. Then just when we thought we were winning we were betrayed."

"Betrayed? Who would...Oh no," Dick thought of the one person that would betray the Tamarian people.

"Yes...Blackfire." She told him with a level of hatred he had never heard before.

"Okay for those of us just catching up, Blackfire is..." Peter asked.

"My older sister," Starfire said as she explained a bit on how Blackfire had been in exile from Tamara for years after her failed plan years ago to gain control of the Tamara. During the war with the alien race named the Citadel she had come to them with claims she had knowledge of their battle plans. At first no one would believe the one that was called the greatest traitor in history. But the information she had seemed genuine and it looked like the war was turning.

But it had all been a ploy, Blackfire had been working with the Citadel the entire time and in their greatest moment was turned into defeat as the trap was sprung. Her people were routed and eventually Starfire ordered the planet to be abandoned. They had lost the war, and they were now a beaten people. They had spent a year in space looking for a new home and finally they had found an untamed world where they could rebuilt.

"God Kori," Finally said after hearing all of that, he moved to comfort his old friend. She turned to actually just hug him. Dick was frozen a moment and then just hugged her back, she felt warm against him like she always did. It felt so natural to hold her again, to feel her warm skin, the scent of her air. God how he had missed this, he had forgotten what it was like.

The alien woman known in her native language as Koriand'r also felt the comfort of Dick's arms. For so long she had just wanted for him to hold her to tell her all those things that made her feel better. She felt better just being his arms again, she had never stopped loving Dick although she wasn't sure if he felt the same.

"Kori...I would have helped," He whispered to her.

"I know," She responded feeling a few tears in her eyes, everything was bursting inside of her. The pain of her lost world, her people that had died, the lost years away from Dick. Everything just felt like the weight of the universe was crushing her.

The other two kind of felt a bit out of place with all of this, Peter could see Batgirl's face and it was kind of hard to read it with part of the face hidden. But she looked a bit at a loss what to think. Batgirl looked at the scene and it was true a part of her was jealous, a part of her still cared for Dick maybe a bit more than just a friend. But after hearing the story she couldn't just stay angry with the other woman, after being through all of that?

Batgirl couldn't even imagine what that had to be like sure she saw a lot of crap in this city but a war? But what do you say to something like that? There weren't any words she could think of and looked over to Peter. He was unusually quiet and she couldn't see his face but his body language said something else. She knew that he must be thinking of what it was like to lose everything, to leave your world behind.

Dick pulled Starfire away gently, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"It's okay it was my choice." She gave a heart hearted smile wiping a tear away. "It's one of the reasons I'm back on Earth I needed to get away from it all. I wanted to go to a place that held nothing but great memories for myself. I needed to heal, to see old faces."

"What about your people?" He asked her.

She looked down unable to meet his eyes, "I left the power in capable hands, I just...I'm not worthy to lead. I tried to lead my people and look what happened? The truth is I can feel the looks on me when they think I'm not looking. They blame me and in a way they were right. I just couldn't stay there, I felt like a stranger among my own people."

At this point Peter was feeling pretty awkward and kind of a third wheel. "Hey look, it's obvious you two got a lot to catch up on. How about you two sort things out and Batgirl and I go and do a few rounds around the city? You in Batgirl?"

She looked at the two people and nodded her head, "Yeah sounds good to me."

She then walked off with Peter leaving the two behind, once they were a few blocks away Peter looked at Barbara and could see she was thinking about something. "You okay leaving him with her?"

"Yeah why wouldn't I be?"

He could tell from the tone that she wasn't completely honest, "Well...You know leaving him along with his ex and all..."

"In case you forgot I'm his ex-girlfriend too, so I got nothing against it." She swung ahead of him a little faster and Peter got the message, she didn't want to talk about it.

**-Later in New York-**

It was late when Peter used the Justice League teleporter to get home. "Man that's one hell of an easy way to travel. Too bad I can't use it to get to class or work on time when I'm running behind." He yawed as he threw the mask off to the dresser. He changed out of his uniform and put it in the hamper for later, he stretched out feeling a few of the bruises that Bane guy left him, he definitely needed to step up his combat training with Batman. Maybe even a few of the other League guys too, there was that Wildcat guy that took to training a few of the members, maybe even Donna since she came from a warrior people.

He was on his way to the kitchen but saw the TV was on in the living room. He walked over to turn it off and noticed Kara was there sleeping. From the looks of the books opened up on the coffee table she must have been doing some research for a paper she was working on. He turned off the TV and went to pick her up gently and carry her to bed when she woke up.

"Hmm...Oh Peter, god what time is it?" She asked yawning.

"Late," He said sitting down by her head, she shifted as she used his lap as a pillow. "Sorry to wake you I didn't want you sleeping on the couch and I had planned on taking you to bed."

"Yours or mine?" she asked snuggling up to him.

"Didn't think that far," He started to stroke her golden hair hearing her sigh. She loved it when he did this and she felt herself falling asleep again but she just remembered something she had asked Peter to do while in Gotham.

"So how did things go with Dick and Barbara?" She asked him and there was a bit of silence. She opened her eyes not liking how long Peter was taking. "Peter?"

"There...Kind was a complication to things," He admitted and now she sat up fully awake.

"What kind of complications?" She was thinking of anything that could have gone wrong. Maybe Dick and Barbara had a major fight about something, or Dick was moving out of Gotham or it could be a number of things. But when he said that Dick's ex-girlfriend showed up, she never saw that coming, she didn't even knew Dick had one. Well at least a serious one she had guessed that he did date but nothing major.

She listened in as Peter filled her in on things and she didn't like it, this girl had major history with Dick and was left along with him in a vulnerable state by the sounds of things. She suddenly got the idea that her little plan on hooking back up her best friend with her ex-boyfriend might have gotten a lot harder then she had thought.

She sighed and slumped in the couch, "Great just great, so much for plan A."

"Kara come on let them work things out, trust me getting involved will only lead to something bad," Peter told her as he put an arm around her. "Besides maybe they would be better off as friends or at least if you want to set Barbara up with someone maybe someone new."

Kara thought about it and she got that wicked look in her eyes. "You know you may not be all that off, maybe all we need is a little jealousy to get things rolling. Dick sees her with a new guy and starts to feel some old feelings, maybe even tries to win her back..."

Peter sighed and got up to leave, that was it he wasn't getting sucked in. He could last a new months without sex, at least it was more bearable then this. "I'm telling you just let it go, now come on we got classes tomorrow."

She gave a pout at his back and went to her room to change and get into her bed. Although she wasn't totally giving up after all. Besides she finally found love, was it so wrong to have her best friend in the world have it again too? Plus maybe she should see if she could set her up with someone but with who? Most of the people she knew were superheroes although maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

'Now then who could I choose?' She thought to herself as she lay on her bed. 'Booster Gold is handsome but with that ego she'd deck him. Wild Cat is way too old, J'onn...Don't think she'd go with aliens...Or androids so Red Tornado is out too. Starman? There is a possibility although I've seen him with Stargirl a lot so hard to say if they have a thing.'

'Captain Atom? Naw I don't think she'd want radiation poisoning. She doesn't like guns so Vigilante and Nemesis are out, Shining Knight it too...Old school for her. Hawk is too gun-ho but his brother Dove is kind of nice and cute. Damn why does she have to be so hard to find good matches for?'

Kara sighed and decided to worry about it later, she had a test tomorrow, work and then she had duty on the station. It would be a very long day and she would have to put this plan on hold. She did wonder for a moment if Peter was right. Was it good to get in the way like this? Were Dick and Barbara happier to be just friends then back as a couple?

All she wanted was for them to be happy, well she would at least try and see if things could be worked out but she wouldn't push it. If she did she could lose both as friends so she had to be careful. But it was late, she yawned as she felt herself being dead tired. A part of her was tempted to curl up with Peter, she hugged one of her pillows to her. It was always nice sleeping in the same bed with him, there was just something about sharing a bed with the one you loved.

'God I'm too tired to even float there,' She thought as her eye lips fell down. Well there would be plenty of time for that later anyway, that was the good thing with living with your boyfriend, she knew that she would always see him in the morning.

**Next Up Chapter 6: New People**


	6. New People

**AN: Just for those that forgot this story takes place BEFORE season 3 so keep that in mind.**

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 6: New People**

It had been over a week since Peter's first trip to Gotham. So far they hadn't found Joker but by then Batman was back taking things over. Peter hadn't seen much of Nightwing lately and he had a good guess why, he was most likely with Starfire as they caught up over all the lost years when they were apart. At any rate Peter was glad to be off that, not that he had anything against Gotham but he was a New York boy at heart. Plus there were only so many insults he could dish out to Bullock at any rate. He was also lucky that Kara didn't go through with her little threat, mainly cause it was out of his hands.

So things went back to normal, at least normal for them at least, although when Supergirl was called by Shayera she had hoped for a mission, well in a way it was a 'mission' she guessed but she wasn't pleased with it.

Supergirl was walking the halls with one of the core members Shayera Hal, who used have been known as Hawkgirl but had recently dropped the name on the mask her people wore. She was trying to find her own identity these days, given that she couldn't go home she was making a new life for herself. Plus as Hawkgirl she had betrayed the League and her friends. Maybe as just Shayera she could try and make up for it all.

"So why do I have to be the one to show around the new people we're getting?" Supergirl asked the taller redheaded alien. She wanted action, not babysitting some new people, sometimes she felt like she was being treated with the kid gloves just because of her age.

"Because you know what it's like to be one of the new people, and you're good with people. Plus the fact that I'm here because I'm an older member and it would balance things out." She explained as they walked the metal corridors.

"Yeah but why not Donna? She's newer then me." Kara countered.

"On a mission."

"Well Peter is better with people then me."

"He's already done this with Donna," Shayera said to her. "You could use a bit more practice and besides he's with the tech boys. I think he's currently with Mr. Terrific and Atom working on something or another."

"I swear if he comes home late and half asleep again I'm going to make sure those two don't keep him up late on their little projects." Kara said in a more serious tone. So far whenever Peter got together with the smarter people of the group it turned into some type of super hero geek meeting, with a little mad scientists thing thrown in there. And with all that Peter normally did he would end up falling asleep in class and if he wanted to stay in school he needed some sleep.

Shayera smirked at what Kara said, she could see that Peter and Kara's relationship was very mature for their age. She often was the one that had to make John relax at times, maybe it was something about the males of this world. At any rate she put those thoughts aside, she remembered the names of two new members although at this moment they would be put on reserve list until they were trained a bit more. After that they would be paired up with more experienced members in future missions and then they would be evaluated by the core members of the League.

When they got to the main control center, Shayera nodded to J'onzz who was busy as always with running things. They stopped at the main teleporter pads and waited.

Kara was thinking who they were getting, she knew of a few other heroes that were still not with the League and she could come up with a few names that she wouldn't mind seeing up here. Then there was the glowing light of the teleporter as two new people appeared.

She looked them over one was a boy a year or so older then her, he was in a full red suit with a small domino mask, there was this 'S' symbol on his uniform and he looked to be carrying a bow and had a quiver of arrows on his back. He looked like a younger and red version of Green Arrow.

The other was a tall woman who had to be an alien, she was all orange and green eyes. Then something clicked, the description of the alien woman that came to Gotham. 'You got to be kidding me. Her? Here?' Kara thought to herself seeing Starfire.

"Hello and welcome to the Tower I'm Shayera and this is Supergirl." The League member said.

"Hello there I am Starfire," The alien woman looked at the Thanagarian and had a small smile on her face. "I've heard of your people, your abilities as warriors are much to be admired."

"And I've heard of the Tamarians," Shayera had a predatory grin herself. "You know I never got to fight a Tamarian before. I hope you don't mind me asking for a sparring match sometime."

"It would be an honour," The two warrior women nodded to each other. Both came from warrior cultures that excelled in combat. And to fight even just to spare with one other was something that both women would look forward to.

"Hey there cutie I'm Speedy," The red clad hero said flashing Kara his best grin to the pretty blond. "And I have to say I'm a big fan of yours, and I'm looking forward to working with someone like you."

Kara gave a half-hearted smile, "Thanks but don't bother with the flirting."

"Oh? Are my good looks and charm not cutting it? Damn I'm crushed a beautiful girl like you is rejecting me already." He still smiled at her and Kara had to admit he was cute and had that dashing smile of his.

"Sorry but I don't think my boyfriend would like that," Kara tried not to laugh at the face of Speedy.

"Oh...Oops sorry about that, didn't know you had a guy. Well I'll wedge the foot out of my mouth and we'll start over?" He asked her giving her his hand, she shook it with a smile. He was obviously a ladies man and at least wasn't at all fazed by failing either. Now more than ever she thought back to Green Arrow and the similarities. They walked through the station showing them a few things, Shayera took the lead while Kara gave her own little insights to the station.

Although Kara was eying the orange alien woman, she couldn't help but wonder why she was really here. Not to mention who offered her the membership, but then again that could have been anyone really. They went around to every hero at least once to offer them a place.

"So then Starfire I got to ask, why the League? Are you part of that Titan team or something?" Kara asked.

"While I did love being a Teen Titan it's...It's just not the same. Sure Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven are there but I don't know the new kids there." Starfire didn't say that Dick wasn't there either and it just didn't feel right without him. "Plus I am on Earth to make a new start with my life. I wanted to start fresh and when I was approached by Flash I figured it would be a good chance for my new start."

'Ah so Flash is the one that brought her up here,' Kara should have guessed, if it was some hot girl chances are it would be Green Arrow or Flash to ask them to join up.

"Yeah kind of the same here right Starfire?" Speedy grinned at her. "I was part of the Titans East when I was younger but I'm not a teen anymore and I was feeling too old for that. Plus a few years back the East branch kind of folded up shop. And I wanted to strike out on my own, make my own place in the world."

"I am glad to hear that Speedy," Starfire told her old friend.

"Man was everyone a part of this Teen Titans thing?" Shayera asked since all this was before she came to Earth.

"Hard to say at one point we had a lot of members and different teams." Speedy tried to remember them all. "I think we were up to like what? Twenty-three? Twenty-four?"

"We may need to ask Flash I think he knew." Starfire told him.

Then both Kara and Shayera stopped, "Wait are you telling us Flash was a Titan too?" Kara asked and now she could see why Wally had asked Starfire. If they were old friends then of course he would give her a place in the League.

"Yeah but back then he went by Kid Flash," Speedy grinned remembering the old costume he used to wear.

"Kid Flash?" Shayera smirked trying to imagine this.

"Yes he had the most colourful yellow uniform back then." Starfire finished. Both Kara and Shayera looked at each other trying to picture Wally in an all yellow suit. They both ended up laughing a bit, Kara couldn't wait to tell Peter, since most likely the next time Flash would try to pull a prank on him, Peter would dye his uniform yellow.

"Please tell me you got pictures." Shayera asked getting control of herself.

Speedy grinned at her, "Depends on the price I can get for them."

"Oh I think you'll work out fine here," The winged warrior was already making plans on buying a few for them. John wanted to get back at Wally for pulling a joke that involved moving all of John's furniture into Stargirl's room and her stuff into his. And walking into your private room on that station to find boy bands all over your wall wasn't pleasant.

They continued on and it wasn't until they hit the break room when things took a wrong turn. As soon as they took a few steps into the place Speedy froze all of a sudden, and then quickly turned around. "Yeah looks good moving on now."

"What, why?" Kara asked confused.

"No reason I just want to see more of the place is all," He said quickly.

"Speedy my boy is that you?" Came a male voice and Speedy groaned. He had seen him and he knew that this guy was here but he really wasn't up to seeing him.

"Yeah it's me what do you want?" Speedy said flatly as he turned around to face Green Arrow.

"Oh come now you're not still mad are you?" Green Arrow asked the young man.

He had taken Speedy in and trained him, hell the boy was like a second son to him in many ways. But not too long ago things had gotten a little strained between them. It started with little things at first, Speedy wanted to break out more out from under his role as the side kick to the Green Arrow that was the start of it all.

After all Speedy was a Titan and had been on the Titans East for years making a name for himself as a hero. But after that when he was back working with Oliver he was just the sidekick again. Green Arrow treated him like a kid at times, and he hated it. Oliver though for his faults had just been worried about the boy, he knew this life wasn't easy and he just worried that the boy could get himself killed. He cared for Speedy and he was just trying his best to look out for him.

The thing of it was they both had made some mistakes in the past, had said things that both regretted and done things they wished they could take back. Unfortunately both were too stubborn to admit to them or to apologize since neither one ever admitted they were wrong to the other. It was one in the many ways they were alike, it was also one of the problems.

"Look I'm here to be my own hero okay?" Speedy said a little more coldly than he wanted to.

"Yeah well who am I to stop my old partner?"

"Ex-Partner," The younger hero said although he wouldn't have minded being called a partner if Green Arrow had treated him more like one.

"Yeah fine, look I was just here to welcome you to the team was all." Oliver crossed his arms. By now the entire room was silent watching the display going on. There was a cold silence then and everyone was wondering exactly what was going on and why. Speedy noticed this and decided to cut and run, this was not the way he wanted his first day to go or to how people see him.

"Fine then...thanks," He said before turning around and walking out of the room. Starfire looked just as confused by all of this and wanted to go after her friend but Shayera stopped her.

"I think he needs a little space." She told the other woman and Starfire watched him walk off.

Green Arrow sighed and hung his head a little, he walked back to his seat but after that he wasn't his usual cheerful self. People went back to what they were doing although Black Canary walked over and sat down next to him. She had never seen him look like this, it was like someone had kicked him where it really hurt the most.

"Hey you going to be okay?" She asked him.

"Maybe..." He didn't even look at her as he looked out into the stars. "You know that kid is the closest thing to a son I got in this world, the closest thing to family even and yet I just can't talk to him anymore. It used to be so simple, and I miss the old days back when we were closer..."

She had no idea that he had this kind of depth, hell she didn't even know about Speedy. She was honestly surprised by this and in a way it was kind of sad. She reached over to place a hand on his and he finally looked at her and he took her hand in his, then he finally got a small smile on his face.

After that little incident Kara gave Speedy a ten minute head start before she went looking for him. She found him easily enough since he only knew certain parts of the station. She found him in the observation room leaning on a rail. She walked over to him and placed herself next to him.

"So you feel any better?" She asked.

"What not going to ask what it was all about?" He said.

She only smirked, "Please I have Superman for a cousin and I know a few others with work with others that are a bit overprotective of them, so I know what was most likely going on."

He gave a small grunt, he was glad that there was at least someone else that knew what he was going though. Kara looked him over and for a minute she thought of something, he was kind of hot in a way, he obviously wasn't afraid of authority figures and wanted to be his own man. She suddenly started to form an idea and it gave her a wicked smile.

"So Speedy right?" Kara asked him as they stood there together, "You ever been to Gotham?"

Speedy gave her a curious look behind his mask.

**-Cadmus facility-**

Amanda walker was looking up the progress on the new subject Mr. Jim Harper. So far she had been right, recruiting him turned out to be very simple once she gave him everything that he wanted. A second change and the ability to do what he loved to do in life, to help other only she would make sure that he did it Cadmus' way. So far things were going well, even General Eiling seemed to like the man which was a small miracle in itself.

She stepped into the training area, she walked into an elevator as it took her to the observation post. Once she stepped out she looked into a large tech room, there were people on monitors each one taking vital stats of what was going on. Physical and mental exertion, skill level, difficulty settings and other such things, all of which would be later compacted together into reports on how to improve. She walked forward to the large reinforced glass looking down.

The large room beneath her held a vast training area, much of the same technology that the League used to train they also used only they used them to more extreme levels. Below her the gauntlet program was running, this was a maze filled with dangers. Waller watched the now young Jim run through it, he moved with a speed and grace that no normal human held. He dodged obstacles and attacks with ease, and countered with efficiency. He was in an all black training uniform, at least for the moment. When she was satisfied she would allow the special armour suit to be given to him, so he could train with that.

"Amazing isn't it." Said a familiar voice.

Waller didn't turn to see Octavius there next to her, she knew he was here overseeing the training.

Dr. Octopus smiled as she didn't respond, "Ah the ever silent treatment. Well I do hope you at least appreciate my abilities if it wasn't for my expertise in cloning this all would still be years away. And you know watching him down there reminds me so much of someone that is famous in my world."

"He's called Captain America, a super soldier, in fact the very first one. The young man down there is a lot like him, same abilities and moves, I even designed some of the suit and even the shield he's going to use is much like Captain America's. Too bad I couldn't fully duplicate it, but it seems that certain metals like adamantium or even vibranium do not exist in this world. That's a curiosity but then again things like Kryptonite doesn't exist in mine either."

Waller let him talk, she knew that he loved the sound of his own voice but it also gave her more insights into this other world. She wouldn't allow him to build that device or anything close to it, she wasn't stupid he would simply escape or worse bring in others like him. At any rate for the time being he seemed to be playing ball with them, and despite her dislike of the man he was right. His knowledge had led to a few breakthroughs with several projects.

"It's adequate." She finally said to him.

He scowled at her knowing that she was only pulling his chain, getting him angry on purpose. He pushed it aside as he played their little game. "Well then I'll have to do better next time. So what does the great and powerful Waller need done today?"

"I need you to speed things up, I want that new team ready." She told him.

"Please you know the reports I can't accelerate them any faster or else there could be damage. You've already seen that with the Ultimen. You were lucky they lasted as long as they did, if you took your time you could have found a way to stabilize them before they were put into the world."

"Yes I know that Doctor," She said coldly. "But there are ways around the time issue."

"You mean having that witch Tala use her magic," He said in distain. He didn't like magic in fact he hated it. He knew it was real, or at least as real as it could be. But the fact was it flew against anything he knew about science it was like a slap in the face of how the universe was to work. He also knew that it was dangerous and at times unpredictable.

"You can't expect magic and science to work, for all we know it would end up destroying the specimens and then we'd have to start over again. And trust me that will not be as easy, it took me time to help you with the mass cloning of Galatea, she was the most difficult to clone. And don't get me started on that other subject that you wanted to make. He's powerful like you asked but most likely could be unstable as well." Octavius told her.

"Well if you don't want me to use her then get back to work," She turned and left him there. In secret she wouldn't use Tala's abilities, she just wanted to give him a 'push' to step things up. So far she was actually pleased with the progress but she didn't want to show it. She needed to be hard like a hammer, to forge this group into the last line of defence. The world would need them and they had to be ready for when those up in that damn tower finally went rogue.

Besides he seemed to work better when there was a bit of pressure on him. So she stepped back into the elevator, things were going well. It would take time for the team to be ready but when they were she was sure that she would have what she needed, a group that could go head to head with the League. So far their first member was already impressing her and she wanted the rest to be just as impressive.

**Next Up Chapter 7: Work and Life**


	7. Work and Life

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 7: Work and Life**

Peter was enjoying his day he was back in New York and things seemed to be going well. He had heard of Starfire joining up with the League and he liked it, they could always use someone like her and boy that girl sure could pack a punch. But today he wasn't being a superhero he was just Peter Parker, student as NYU and photographer for the newspaper he worked for The Journal. He got out of the elevator saying hi to a few people he was getting to know. Kara had the day off so she wouldn't be working today there.

It was kind of odd having your friend/girlfriend living with you, going to the same school and working together. He was sometimes worried they would smother the other at some point but they also took time apart now and then so it wasn't all bad. He looked around the busy office even after all this time it reminded him of the Bugle maybe because it was nearly the same set up. He was going to the 'bullpen' as they called it, it was the rec room for everyone and he wanted a coffee how he lived this long without it he never knew.

"Hey Peter!"

He turned to see Betty there, of course not his Betty Brant but just another secretary that shared the name. It was another odd thing he was getting used to as he saw her catching up to him.

"Hey what's up Betty?"

"Usual, the boss wants to see you in his office." She told him.

Peter nodded and headed to J.J.'s office which was another of the other weird things about this place. He had yet another boss with the initials J.J. although this stood for Jonathan Jarrett. He knocked and heard his boss call him in, he walked in to see the man that looked more like an aging hippie with that white ponytail handling a putter. "Peter how's my favourite photographer?"

"Good J.J. so what's up?" Peter asked taking a seat.

He lined up a shot and placed a small gold ball into a cup not far from him, "You know this paper needs a new shot of Spider-Man and since you seem to be the expert I need you do get me one."

"Sure anything in particular?"

"Well he's been seen in the company of a few female heroes mainly Wonder Girl and Supergirl and there is that online poll as to which one he's seeing. There are others but the people want to know the story, is he seeing one or both of them? Dating them? Living with them? I want you to get positive proof of this."

"Kind of the thing for the gossip column isn't it?" Peter was trying to keep a straight face with all of this. Here he was in a way discussing his love life. It was kind of odd although he had seen that online poll too, Kara took it with good humour thankfully since she was still rated as most hot teen hero. Although Donna was ranking up the points and was in second place not far behind Stargirl.

"Peter my boy Spider-Man has become one of New York's most recognized heroes, hell he's been around longer than most and he's quickly got the people attention. The guy is gold and we need to give the people want they want. If they want to know who he's seeing, who he's sleeping with, what he eats for breakfast and what he wears for underwear I'm going to get it." J.J. put the putter away and sat behind his desk.

He leaned forward interlocking his fingers, "So my boy think you're up to it?"

Peter grinned, "Oh it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Later Peter was doing his own superhero thing, it was kind of odd not to run into more super criminals but so far they seemed to like hitting places like Metropolis, Gotham, Keystone City and other places. It was really strange and Peter was almost wishing for more action. But the last time he did that, Cyber-Spider showed up and he got partially buried under part of a building. So he wasn't wishing for that anytime soon.

He landed on a building top, it was a nice place that he came to think now and then. He sat on the ledge just looking out over his city. Peter was taking the moment to wonder just how he would ask Kara to post for this shot, although he knew that she wouldn't mind. He was more worried about how to do it and when to get it in. If he got it too fast it would look suspicious but he did have a deadline and also the picture shouldn't look like it was planned. He was also thinking about how funny it was, he normally made money off himself like this, but he never had to use it to make his romance life public.

The last time this happened with Shadowcat people all knew that he was seeing her and she got targeted because of it. But he knew that was the risk and he knew Kara was a tough girl, it was also already mostly common knowledge in the League that he and Kara were dating so nothing new on that front. It was still a bit weird to take a photo of him and his girlfriend making out to be seen all over the papers.

"When did I suddenly become Ben Affleck and everyone wanted to know who I was sleeping with?" He asked himself.

"Maybe around the time you started talking to yourself."

Peter looked up to the smiling sight of Kara floating over him. She had noticed him while flying and stopped in to see what he was up to. She floated down to sit next to him, "And I got a question...Ben Affleck?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing but he's cuter," She grinned letting him know she was just teasing.

"Yeah well...Donna has a bigger cup size." Peter shot back at her.

Kara half-faked being insulted, "She does not! And why were you looking anyway?"

"Hey that was before we were a couple so I plead immunity." He told her holding his hands up in defence. Kara just smiled and shook her head, no matter what Peter would always make her smile. It just seemed to be a talent of his and one of the reasons she liked him so much, he went out of his way at times to make others happy.

"So what were you talking about?" Kara asked him and he told her his new assignment and by the end of it she couldn't stop herself from laughing. It was just so silly and she couldn't help but find the whole thing funny.

"Glad you think kissing me is so funny, maybe I'll go ask Donna." Peter mused earning him a punch to the arm. He winced thankful she pulled the punch although she made sure it was too fast for him to dodge but he had been expecting it.

"Sorry but it is funny, so then how do you want to do it?" She kind of had a thrill from it all, kissing Peter in costume and letting the whole world know that this was her guy. It was kind of like yelling to the world who she was in love with.

"Well I'll think on it I want to get it right." Peter planned to swing by a few areas he wanted this to be a nice shot and not just some random thing. After all this picture would show the world his girl and he wanted to have it perfect.

Kara nodded and sat back with him kicking her feet over the edge. She looked down at herself and frowned, "Peter...Do you think I should change my costume?"

He was surprised by the sudden topic change. "Not sure, I mean what brought this on? I thought you liked what you were wearing."

"Yeah it's nice and all but...Well it's kind of kid like. I was younger when I picked it out and after seeing that other me in her uniform it got me thinking." She remembered meeting her alternate version of herself from the Justice Lord reality. She wore a blue suit that was kind of similar to Superman's although of course made for just her.

"After that whole thing Peter I was thinking of changing my look, I mean here I am living on my own, with my boyfriend, I'm not a child, and I'm not a virgin anymore either, I'm growing up and I feel I just need to change to show it. Does that make any sense to you?" She wanted his honest opinion since she held what he thought in high regard.

Peter thought about for a moment, "I think you make a few good points, and if you want to change that badly then I say go for it. You got any ideas on what to wear?"

"I'm thinking something like the other me had, something blue in memory of Clark. I want to make him proud of me and I think wearing his colors would do that."

Peter nodded his head, "Sounds good to me I only got two questions, I sure hope you don't put on a headband like that other you. That was kind of 1980's and really not that cool."

Kara giggled and nodded, "Yeah I thought of the same thing, so no headband...So what's the second one?"

"You keeping the skirt look?" He asked her hopefully. "I love a girl in a skirt and you really got the legs for it too."

Kara blushed a bit and smiled at him. "Hmmm...Okay skirt stays but I'm going to change the look and color."

"Sounds good to me." Peter and Kara sat back as they talked on about their day. They had nothing much to do at the moment and they wanted to just be Peter and Kara for moment and not Spider-Man and Supergirl. They went over ideas for her new costume look and by the end of it Kara thought that they had a good start for her and she was glad Peter offered to help her with it. After all Peter had to learn to sow for his own costume since MJ wasn't around all the time, plus sometimes she screwed up and he had to learn to fix things.

**-Watchtower-**

Wally West the fastest man alive was having a good day, after all when you put away some of your personal rogue's in jail, saves a few dozen lives, help out at the orphanage in his city, paint a friend's fence, go on a League mission and help unload the new supply crates all in one day he liked to kick back. And the thing was the day was only half over too, he really loved his speed it sure made him able to do so much in a short amount of time.

At the moment he was in the cafeteria getting a tray full of food, after all he had worked up a large appetite and his stomach was threatening to revolt and devour him if he didn't feed it. He was looking for a place when he saw a lone figure but a familiar one. He zoomed over and sat down surprising her, "Hey there Star, glad you see you took up my offer on joining."

"Oh Flash you startled me," Starfire had been alone but she was glad for the company. It was hard to make friends with new people and she missed the old team that she had. But the new Titans weren't like how she remembered it and she had to admit that the past was the past. But it did help that some of the old extended members of the Titans were now members in the League.

"So how are things?" He asked as he starting eating up a few hotdogs.

She sighed and shrugged, "It is...Well it is hard to adjust being gone for so long. So much has changed since I left, are you still together with Jinx?"

Wally actually stopped eating remembering her, Jinx who used to be a villain he saw as someone who had just a run of rotten luck and wasn't as bad as she seemed. Hell she was actually nice and had this cute laugh. He smiled remembering those days, Jinx had been most likely his first real relationship, maybe the first girl he fell in love with. You don't forget that kind of thing.

"Well no...We dated pretty heavily over three years but well...I had to go to college eventually and she wanted to start a new life for herself. You know try the normal life thing? Well I couldn't give up the costume and I did make time for her but...I guess even as the fastest man alive we still grew apart from the distance." He told her.

"Oh I'm sorry Wally," Star honestly told him.

He just shrugged it off, "Hey was I hurt when it happened yeah, but I treasure what we had. I think we were good for each other for that time in our lives. Last I heard she was living a happy life owning her own book store, one of those new age places that goth kids like to hang out in and those new age witches and stuff. I think she likes being around people that think of her as normal with her pink hair and those cat like eyes of hers."

Wally was happy for her, Jinx deserved to live a nice life after all and yeah he missed her. He kept meaning to call her up and they used to keep in touch. First it was every week, then every other week then a monthly call and then suddenly before he knew it, six months went by without him thinking of calling her up. He didn't even know how it happened, things just got kind of busy and well he just hadn't the time it seemed.

Starfire started to play what remained of her food, it just seemed that nothing was the way she remembered Earth. It was almost like when she had returned with the team to Jump City after going all over the world, the city had changed in their absence and it had taken time to get used to it. But she really missed her old life before things got so complicated and before...Before she left Dick. The thing was she had never stopped loving him, she had tried to let him go but nothing worked. She still thought of him and then she sees him and it just brings back all sorts of old feelings again.

"Hey there you okay?" Flash had stopped long enough to noticed the look on her face.

"Oh nothing," She took a sip of her drink.

Flash may not have had a super smarts like some members of the League but he wasn't stupid. He could tell something was off with her but he didn't want to push things, at least not yet. What he needed now was something to help take her mind off things and he quickly looked around and then he waved an arm to get their attention. "Hey guys come on over I want you two to meet someone."

Starfire looked to see a young and attractive dark haired girl in a red suit that looked like a younger version of Wonder Woman and a very large handsome young Native American boy. Flash smiled as he did the introductions. "Starfire meet Donna Troy AKA Wonder Girl and Longshadow."

"It's nice to meet you," Longshadow said and Star could tell he was a gentle soul despite his massive build for a teenager.

"Yeah it's nice to meet some new people, I heard that you and Shayera wanted to get a sparring match set up." Donna told her.

Star nodded, "Yes I wanted to test her out from one warrior to another."

"Well watch out, I thought my sister was tough but when Shayera gets made that mace of hers can really hurt." Donna could still feel it where she had been hit last week by that damn thing. Wonder Girl had taken up the challenge like a true Amazon warrior and ended up learning that despite the red head wasn't as strong as her she was fast and hit hard, very hard, and repeatedly.

"I will take that into account thank you." Starfire nodded her thanks. They started to talk and Flash was glad to see Star making some new friends. He wasn't sure what was going on with her but she seemed to be in need of friends and he was glad to help out. Maybe he could get Star and a few of his friends together? It may not be the Titans but making some new bonds might go to a long way to helping her adjust.

Now the only question was the guest lists and where to do something like this.

**-Gotham-**

Barbara was having one of those nights, Batman was off with doing his own thing pushing her aside to just patrol certain areas while he got the good job of tracking down Mad Hatter. It just sucked, hell lately her life just sucked. Bruce kept keeping her at a distance and even though things with her and Dick were good she felt a bit jealous of the time he was spending with that Starfire girl.

She knew that they talked and he had seen her a few other times, she didn't know why it bothered her. Hell she and Dick had been over for a couple of years now...So why did she miss what they had? Maybe it was just the fact that after Dick she hadn't really had a decent relationship. She had to laugh at her so called love life. She remembered Gill who had seemed so nice but ended up not only being a major creep but tried to kill her as Batgirl. There was this moment in a boat where he had unmasked her and the explosion threw him into the water. He was still in a coma after all these years and she was glad for it.

The man tried to destroy her father and she could never forgive that, plus the fact that he knew she was Batgirl so every now and then she would check to see if he was still in that coma. Well after that there had been a few dates, then finally she and Dick who she had been friends with for years had started to date. Very heavily actually, hell her first time had been with Dick and she could have just married him if he had asked her. But then things fell apart, they found out about each other secret identity and worse Bruce had known for years and never told Dick.

They had so much trouble that it had been the final straw between them. He had asked her to leave with him but she couldn't. She had stayed and at times she regretted it, because then she did the most stupid thing ever. She had a stupid crush on Batman for years and now working with him she thought that maybe he would see her as more than a partner. How stupid was that of her? She was nearly half his age and so she had spent years dateless waiting for him.

Now in her Batgirl costume she was sitting on rooftop just looking for anything to take her aggression and frustration out on. "You know I wish at least something would go my way, I mean just once. God I haven't had a single date in...Christ...six months..." She moaned no wonder she felt down.

By day she was just your average librarian and it's not exactly the best place to meet cute guys, mainly young kids labels as geeks or nerds who were too shy to come up to her. Yeah her personal life just sucked it was not lost on her. She dated now and then but nothing serious and even just a one night stand had been as she said six months ago.

Suddenly a scream was heard and she leaped into action. Finally some action as she used the grapple to swing towards the alleyway. There a young woman with a torn shirt was running out of it and Batgirl would have to check up on her later, since soon she was going to be chased by whoever attacked her and she would make them pay. She landed with perfect grace and had a batarang out in an instant ready for action.

She stopped as she saw three thugs with some bruising all ready defeated. One was stuck in place with red arrows pinning him to the wall, another was in a net and another was face first stuck inside of a trash can. Batgirl wondered who had gotten here first, the arrows made her think of that Huntress woman but they were too long.

"Well hello there Batgirl."

Batgirl turned to the sound and looked up and there sitting there on the fire escape was someone in a red suit and a bow and arrow of all things. "Who are you?"

"What Nightwing never mentioned his old rival Speedy?" He asked her and when she shook her head he didn't look happy with that. "Figures he never could take that I was a better Titan then him or my team was better than his."

'Oh so he's from way back then,' Batgirl relaxed a bit more now, she knew about when Dick was a Titan although he never really liked to talk about it.

He swung himself down with a flashy acrobatics that some people would find impressive, well not her at least not totally. "I was just passing through and I thought to take in some sights and see if I could lend a hand as well."

Batgirl smirked, "You do know this is Batman's city right?"

"Like I care, if people are in trouble then I'm helping I don't care if tall, dark and brooding gets his cape in a knot." Speedy told her and she had to admit he was either brave or stupid thinking that. But then again the line between those two was a very thin one.

"So then I'm new in town and I'm hoping for someone to show me around and maybe give me a heads up on the worse parts of the city," Speedy flashed his perfect smile at her.

"You want me to show you around?" She asked.

"Hey why not? And I'm willing to back you up too not that you need it but it can get kind of lonely doing this all night with no one to even talk to passing the time. Trust me I know for a fact." He said honestly.

Batgirl thought it over, she hardly knew him but he knew Dick and it seemed had a unique past with him. She could learn a lot about those Titan days of his and he wasn't scare of Bruce, and she was lonely with no one to talk too...plus she had to admit he was kind of handsome.

"Alright but it's my show you got it? I lead you follow."

Speedy only smiled and nodded his head, "Wouldn't have it any other way Batgirl."

**Next Up Chapter 8: Date in Metropolis**


	8. Date in Metropolis

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 8: Date in Metropolis**

Peter was dressed in nice jeans, a red shirt with a black jacket. He and Kara were going out tonight and she told him that she knew of this great club only she wanted to keep it a surprise. Currently he was looking at the picture he had taken for the paper. In it was the picture of him sitting on a ledge, she was sitting on his lap her arms around his neck with him holding her waist. And of course the bottom of his mask was pulled up for the kiss that they were shown. He had to admit it looked good, although Kara for some reason wanted them to try something else.

She had this strange idea of him upside down kissing her while she was hovering and it possible to be in the rain. Now he wasn't sure but you can't really kiss that well when upside down, it's awkward plus they hadn't rain in nearly a week anyway. Besides he had seen that done in that movie they made of him and he didn't want to copy it anyway.

Besides he never liked that part of the movie anyway, he was kissing some strange girl in that movie instead of MJ which of course he knew she was a little uncomfortable with.

He threw the paper down and waited for Kara to get ready. 'How is it that even though she can move faster than a speeding bullet and yet still takes forever to get ready?' He wondered. He heard the door open and finally thought she was good to go. He turned around and he had to admit even though she took her time she looked great.

There she was walking down the stairs in low cut jeans that looked a bit tight, black styled boots with heels, a t-shirt that showed off her stomach, a slim jacket and a purse. Her hair wasn't tied up and was all free and he saw some lipstick and new eye shadow. In short she was a knock out and Peter had to admit he was glad to have her in his life. He still battled with depression but thanks to people like Kara he could at least manage now.

"So how do I look?" She asked giving a fashion twirl.

"In short...hot." He smiled as she grinned. She took him by the hand and lead him to the patio they had and he knew what this meant. It was time to fly air-Supergirl, he didn't really mind it but it was kind of...Unmanly. He knew it was silly after all she could fly and he couldn't, but there was just something about your blond girlfriend doing kind of a reserve caveman on you. "So where are we headed?"

"Metropolis." She smiled and before Peter could get out a surprised reaction they took off at super speed. Peter lost sight of the ground it was all a blur anyway and by the time they got to the ground in an alleyway he needed to steady himself. "Kara...Next time a bit more warning I'm still not used to going that fast..."

"Oh sorry I was just excited, you okay?" She asked and he nodded. She knew that sometimes she got carried away with the speed and had gone a bit too fast. After Peter got steady they walked to an area that looked like the more dangerous part of town, but given who they were they just kept a small eye out for anyone stupid or unlucky enough to try and mug them. Then she smiled seeing the two others she invited.

"Hey Donna! Over here!" She yelled out and Peter saw Donna in her own normal wear only she was in black leather pants and a tank top, her hair in a long ponytail. With her he saw Long Shadow, the large teen was in jeans, a white shirt and a jacket that looked kind of Native American in a way, it looked to be made from hide and had those little tassels like things on the sides. It fit him actually pretty well and did nothing to hide that he was a large guy not to mess with even with that boyish smile of his.

"Great Hera you could have told me where this place was, we've been looking for fifteen minute to this place you told me about." Donna said although smiling as the two girls hugged for a second. They went on complimenting each other on their outfits, hair and the usual.

Peter went up to Long Shadow, at first he had been a little weary of telling him who he was but after getting to know him and when he started to hang out with Donna he decided it would just be easier. Hell he could barely keep his secret identity in his own world, at least this time he could make sure the right people knew. So after he revealed who he was he got to know him, he had to feel a little sorry for the guy, finding out he's an experiment and all the fake memories and all.

Peter could tell that hurt him but he was a strong guy in not just the physical sense.

"So she dragged you to this huh?" Peter grinned.

The taller boy blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Well...I don't really get out much and Donna said that she wanted to spend time with her friends so, I figured what the hell and go out."

Peter nodded, "Yeah it seems a social life for people like us is either too busy to have one or just plain hard to get one. So anything new up lately?"

He nodded with a smile. "I had to fill out a lot of new identity papers and I had to pick a name. So I picked David Longshadow. Not very original I know but...Well I like it." He smiled with a shrug.

Peter thought it over and nodded it wasn't too bad actually, plus it wasn't like he had a secret identity, hell he had his own toy line for crying out loud back with the Ultimen. He frowned slightly at that, he had given those Cadmus people the damn cure and they might have never used it. The Ultimen were never seen again and Peter had this cold feeling in his gut that they might never again see them. He remembered the horror stories Kitty had told him about those Weapon X people and he really didn't like how Cadmus was sounding the more he heard about them.

After the girls were done Kara led them to this club, they had to go into an alleyway to get to the door, apparently the place didn't really advertise. Kara said it was to prevent certain people from getting in, they saw a neon sign that read Chaney's. There was a door there and what Peter could see was a bouncer although he thought it was a guy at first, but when they got close enough for the features to be clearer it wasn't a guy. When the person turned around Peter's jaw nearly dropped, there was a seven foot tall Amazon of a woman there, only in a red sleeveless shirt, black leather jeans. She had short but large red hair, looked to be of Asian bloodline of some kind maybe only with one parent being Asian. She was also heavily tattooed, especially along her arms.

"Donna I thought only you and your sister were the only Amazons out here." Peter asked her.

Donna was just as surprised, this woman was larger than anyone save maybe Giganta. "We are she's not one of us trust me I'd remember someone like her."

Kara walked up smiling, "Hey there Grace."

Grace smiled at the blonde, "Hey Kara haven't seen you in a long time, being part of that new team keeping you busy?"

"Oh that and other things," Kara pulled Peter to her. "This is Peter, my new boyfriend."

Grace looked him up and down, "Not bad kind of scrawny isn't he?"

"Hey!" Peter protested out of reflex.

Kara only giggled, "Trust me he's a LOT stronger then he looks."

Grace Choi shrugged and then looked to the other two, "Damn boy what did your parents feed you?" She grinned at a slightly blushing Longshadow. "Too bad I prefer my men slightly older you'd be the right size to break in my new bed. Hmmm...On second though as long as your over eighteen..." She eyed him like a predator.

Donna suddenly didn't like this woman eyeing her friend like that and quickly looped her arm around his. "Come on David let's get inside." She quickly led him into the door and he was thankful for it. Peter tried not to laugh at the sight of the smaller dark haired girl dragging him in like that. He shared an amused look to Kara who was giggling herself.

They walked in last and Peter could hear the beat of the rave music, there were lights everywhere and the place had a lot of people. He also noticed that some of them had to be metahumans either that or were wearing costumes. "Kara where did you find this place?"

Kara told him how on a trip to Metropolis she had heard rumours that there was a club that was for metahumans only. It took her over a week but she finally managed to find it, there were just two main rules for the place she explained as they walked down to the dance area. First was that the costumes stay home, and second there was to be no fighting especially no power use. Kara also got to be friends with the bouncer Grace Choi, who she told Peter was a good person and liked to kick in heads.

"Remind me not to get her angry." Peter said.

"Oh yeah trust me she might be around your strength level." Kara told him.

They headed for the dance floor, now Peter hadn't been much for dancing but with someone like MJ in his life she eventually made him loosen up enough to try it out. With her help and thanks to his natural balance and abilities he turned out to be a good dancer. He and Kara danced up on the dance floor both of them having fun.

Donna went to get a drink she was looking around waiting for it and was amazed at how different man's world was. They had nothing like this the closest that came to it was a few of the traditional dance celebrations by a giant bonfire. This was so much like that, sure it had more effects and stuff but the primal essence was still there she could feel it in the air, in the music and in everyone. She was excited by it all and was looking forward to this it was too bad that her older sister didn't cut loose more. Maybe she could convince her to go out at least once.

**-John Stewart's Apartment-**

John Stewart's home was a fairly nice place he kept it neat and was organized. At least he tried to keep it that way, looking around you'd never know that an evil version of his girlfriend had knocked him around the place not too long ago. He was currently in the living room flipping through channels he was in a pair of cotton pants he used to sleep in and a t-shirt. He had just stepped out of the shower although not the only one. He was looking through the news channels for something that didn't involve his work with the League or something he had enough of that for the day.

He signed and then turned to the sports channel he had been so busy lately that he had missed out how the local team was doing. He was surprised to see that they had been doing pretty well, they lost a game but won the last two in a row, and one to the teams they had been up against weren't pushovers. He sat back watching the highlights when he heard the shower stop. A few moments later Shayera Hol stepped out in one of his bathrobes and drying off her red hair, he took a moment to appreciate the view of her coming out.

"Damn it, why is this crap so hard to get out? We deal with some two bit mad scientist making his own monsters and what happens when we smash them? They blow up in yellow goo...I still think I can feel it in my wings." She had her wings folded up behind her to make the robe fit and she wasn't too happy. "Did I at least get it all out of my hair?"

John took a moment to look, "I think so at least the smell is gone."

She made a face at that, "Yes that is something at least you don't have to worry about hair since you went bald."

"I shaved my head, I didn't go bald there's a difference." He said sternly, she always made that crack about it although he knew she was just trying to push his buttons a little. It was kind of what started them falling in love with each other, they were both tough and stubborn and had been pushing each other's buttons for years. It was kind of funny at first they couldn't stand one another and now...Now they respected each other and cared for one another deeply.

She smiled and sat down next to him, he put an arm around her and she leaned into it. She needed John's comfort more than ever now a days, ever since she had been exiled from her people she had nowhere else to go but Earth. And after what she had done not many still trusted her, but John would even after that version of her had put him into a coma. She wanted to smash that other her's face in every time she thought about it, she had hurt the one man that treated her with nothing but kindness and love in a way she had never known.

She closed her eyes feeling the warmth of his chest and she felt like she could sleep right here. "John...thank you."

"For what?"

"For...For everything..." She told him gently. "For being there for me, for trusting me after everything and...God I just love you for being you."

He smiled as she stroked her red hair he loved her hair and those green eyes of hers. When she had first taken off her mask and shown him what she looked like, he had lost his breath for a second. He never imagined that she was so beautiful under it she truly looked like an angel to him that moment before their first kiss. Ever since then he felt like a missing part of his life was fitting into place, it had hurt when she had betrayed them but he had forgiven her.

"I love you too," He kissed her head and she snuggled up to him as he wrapped his arms around his angel. She felt her eye lids get heavier and she just didn't want to get up, getting dressed and going all the way back to her place just felt like climbing a mountain. Besides her place was empty and her bed cold. She liked having his warmth next to her when sleeping, his hand on her or her sleeping on him. It just felt...right in some way.

"You want to stay here for the night?" He asked her and she just nodded her head. He smiled as he turned off the TV. "Come on let's at least get more comfortable." He got up and offered her his hand, he could have picked her up and carried her but she'd punch him for that one. She only wanted that when she asked it or allowed it, she was a proud woman and being carried off to bed was something she wouldn't do unless she couldn't walk.

She walked the small hallway to his bed, she rolled a shoulder knowing she was going to feel a few aches and pains the next day but she had fun too. Plus John gave incredible muscles massages, she thought about calling in a sick day for the two of them they hadn't been given as much free time off to be with each other lately. Plus on the up side he made a great breakfast she never was much of a cook, hell a lot of her home meals were instant meals, cooking wasn't one of her strong suits.

She undid the robe and let it fall, John grinned getting a good look at her backside with only a pair of panties on. If they weren't so tired the sight would have given him ideas to make the night a little longer, well there was always the morning he thought. He slipped in with her, she adjusted for her wings and laid down with him using his shoulder as a pillow. She signed feeling the warm skin against her cheek, her life was still troubled with fitting in, trying to undo the damage she had done, not to mention everything else in her life. But just being here with John made everything falling away.

John watched as she fell asleep and he couldn't help but smile at the image, never had he felt more connected to someone more in love with someone. He knew that things were pretty tough in her life at the moment but he would be there for her. He also had been thinking of asking her to move in with him, they had known each other for a long time and they lived in two different cities but he wanted to ask. He liked having her around his apartment just seemed empty when she wasn't around and he liked her here.

Although she did keep messing things around, moving things around and stuff, if he didn't know any better he swore she did it on purpose just because if irritated him. He actually wouldn't put it past her, and it was one of the little things about her that made her so special to him.

**-Metropolis-**

The four young adults had been having a nice time, they were currently at a table resting up and with drinks. Peter sat back as Donna explained how Dianna at a diplomatic party had pretty much ripped this diplomat to pieces, at least verbally. The man had been just some asshole from Donna's view point, he also was treating his wife kind of badly, Diana had seen this and in front of everyone made a fool out of the man. After that Diana spent the night with the woman getting to know her and Donna had been there as usual smiling away.

"I swear I'm never going into politics," Peter said shaking his head. "Besides I don't think I could do those parties, I hate those fancy suits you got to wear anyway."

"Oh I think you'd look cute in one of those," Kara giggled.

"And you'll never see me in one anyway." He said back.

Kara shook her head and looked back to Donna," So please tell me at this party there was at least one cute guy?" She noticed Donna fidget a little and knew there was something. "Oh there was, come on spill girlfriend."

Donna sighed knowing how Kara got, "There was a nice boy who was the son of one of the ambassadors. He was actually very nice and we danced a few times."

"Oh nice going, you going to see him again?" Kara asked.

Donna actually wasn't sure she had to admit the boy had been very nice, and he was good looking too. She cast a look to David though, and for a moment she didn't want to answer but she didn't know why exactly. He looked kind of uncomfortable with this conversation as well.

"I...I think I'm going to get another drink, please excuse me." David said and got up.

Donna felt like he sounded a bit hurt for some reason, Kara was too interested to know more about this mysterious boy to notice and kept on asking Donna more and more. Peter however did notice and made an excuse to leave, Kara waved him off eager for some gossip and Peter made his way through the crowd. He found David by the bar ordering another drink, Peter sat down next to him.

"So...What's up?" He asked him.

"Nothing." David said with a shrug.

"Come on man something is bothering you." Peter took a look at him, he looked a little uncertain about something and for a long time he didn't say anything. It looked like he was trying to word whatever it was bothering him into words.

"It's just...Have you ever been close to someone before? I mean...I mean you like being around this person and it feels...Right I guess. I don't got many friends, Diana was the first to really reach out to me and with her help I made the right choice. Donna has been helping me get my life back in order and..." He shrugged again.

Honestly David Longshadow just didn't know how to word things, he liked Donna. She was kind, beautiful, strong, she was like the perfect woman. So why was it that lately he felt something other than friendship? That whenever she touched his hand he felt better, that he liked to see her smile or to hear her laugh? None of his false memories ever dealt with any relationships so he knew he was kind of shy because of it.

Peter however knew exactly what he was going though, he had been there himself a couple of times. Peter sat with him for a moment before speaking, "To me...It sounds like you got a thing for Donna, does she know?"

"I don't think she feels the same honestly." He sighed.

Peter winced he knew what that felt like too, and it royally sucked. "Well...You could ask her out and I won't say that stupid cliché about the worst being that she says is no cause even if that's all she says is bad enough. But honestly I think you got a shot."

David looked at him, "Really?"

"Look I normally don't like to get involved with relationships but honestly look at me," Peter gestured to himself. "In high school I was a scrawny geek that got picked on all the time and was pretty low on the totem pole-uh...sorry no offence." He mentally smacked himself for the Native American reverence.

He just waved it off, "I don't care just don't make any Indian giver jokes of things like that."

"Duly noted," Peter tried to get back on track. "Anyways...In short I wasn't Mr. Campus but I had a hot redheaded girlfriend, another brunette mutant girl, I had this older sexy as hell woman after me...that is until she found out my real age talk about ego blow. Anyway take a look at you, I mean you're freaking Mr. Universe. Hell there are girls checking you out all night like those at that table over there."

Peter pointed and they looked to a table with two girls who looked away giggling about something, and David was surprised by that, he knew he got fan mail back in the day with girls asking all about him, but he figured it was just the celebrity status.

"Now then you got all that going for you and she already likes you, trust me dude you got a better shot just got to take it."

Longshadow thought about it and he looked to the table with Kara and Donna and focused on Donna. Maybe some things were worth the risk. "Peter...Thanks."

Peter smiled taking his new drink, "No problem I'll send you the bill later."

**Next Up Chapter 9: Troubled Members**


	9. Troubled Members

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 9: Troubled Members**

Professor Hamilton was walking the hallways looking for some help, and there was only one man that could help him out at this moment. He got to a door with two armed guards and after the usual security check the doors opened up. Inside was a large lab with various machines and by the looks of it several different projects in various states. He heard the sounds of someone working on machinery and soon found the man he was looking for.

Dr. Octavius was bent over a table working on a device of some kind, he wasn't sure for what although he had to admit the man never seemed to sleep. The cloning project was nearly finished but there were still a few problems one of them was what he was here for.

"Ah the good Professor how goes things?" Octavius asked him not looking up from the device. "I'm nearly done here just something that General wanted me to fix up for some weapon system or something."

"Yes well I wish this was a social call but we're having trouble with one of the...subjects." He said scratching the back of his head. "He's proving very difficult since he woke up and we're holding him in a security cell at the moment until he's more stable."

"Ah I think I know who." Octavius grinned to himself as he put his tools away. "In truth I expected this, ever since I unlocked the ability for genetic memory or false memories I had wondered which to use. But for what he was created to be I had to use his past memories and I knew that he would not take this very well."

"Let me guess he's a bit violent and is sitting in his cell at the moment brooding correct?"

Hamilton was surprised by how accurate he was, "Yes exactly just how on Earth did you know?"

He laughed as if Hamilton had spoken only a joke that he knew. "You see my dear colleague I know him better than he knows himself. There isn't a part of him that I don't know about and I know how he thinks and feels."

"So do you know how to get him to work with us? If not Waller will order his destruction and then we'll be down one member for the new team we're making." Hamilton said.

"Well there is one possibility, tell me how is Galatea doing these days?" He grinned at him and then Hamilton had an idea of what the man was getting at.

After that it was a simple matter of going to see Galatea, even though she thought of him as her 'father' he was still scared to death of her. She was just a clone of Supergirl and given how she went renegade for a moment he was always worried she would turn on them. He always tried not to show his fear of her but he just couldn't help it. He said everything that she wanted to hear just to keep her pleased, plus if she ever found out what he had planned in case she ever went rogue again, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

Thankfully her injuries were nearly totally healed, a few more weeks and she would be ready for full activity as the new team would almost be ready then. Now they were walking down the halls and he was hoping that she could be the one to reach the new clone, he also hoped the others wouldn't be as difficult.

"Who are we seeing father?" She asked him out of curiosity.

He was thankful she couldn't tell whenever she said that out loud it made him uncomfortable. He put on his best face when dealing with her before answering. "Well we're going to see a new member of the team you'll be put on, he's having some trouble dealing with what he is."

"What is he?" She asked him.

"He's a clone." He simply said and he could see that she understood now and she didn't look pleased. Maybe it was the reminder that she herself was a clone and not the original. "Tell me have you had anymore of those dreams again?"

"No," Now her voice was a bit colder, "I don't seem to be able to share my mind with Supergirl anymore."

"That's good we never intended for that to happen to you, I hope you know that." That was actually the first honest thing he had said to her, they hadn't meant for that to happen. Hell they weren't even sure why it had happened, but thankfully whatever link had been between the two seemed to be severed.

They arrived in the security sector as armed guards a lot more than the ones guarding Octavius were stationed out front. "I want you to talk with him and help him adjust, do you think you can do that?"

"I don't see why not," Galatea said and deep down she got the feeling that she could, if this person was like her then she knew exactly what he was going through. She waited for the guards to open the cell doors, she could see these were thick metal ones so whoever was in here had super strength at least.

She walked confidently into the cell as the doors closed behind her, there sitting on a bunk in a plain black one piece body suit had to be the clone. She looked him over, he seemed to be about her age, well at least in appearance with clones actual age got tricky. The suit showed off a very athletic body, not overly muscular but very nice. He had long brown hair that went down to just below his neck.

"What the hell do you want?" He said in an angry voice.

"Just here to talk is all." She told him.

He grunted out and turned to look at her, she could see a handsome face although the brown eyes looked to be filled with anger. Maybe even hate, but not at her, maybe Cadmus of course but she knew that look. She had seen it in the mirror this was self-hate, she despised being what he was she could just tell, she had been that way at first herself knowing she was nothing more than a copy.

There was a pause and then he seemed to actually know her. "Oh perfect they sent me the Supergirl clone to talk to the clone. I thought you had died in that battle, looks like everyone was wrong about that one."

"How did you know what I was?" She asked him shocked he would know such details.

"I got all the memories of the person I was cloned from and he's a close friend of Supergirl's. I remember being there with her when she had the dreams of your memories, and of the aftermath of it. The last thing I remember was being in a battle against Octavius when he threw her off a bridge...Did she survive that battle?" He asked her.

She had heard of that battle and guessed that whatever DNA they had gotten must have come from that fight. "Yes she did, apparently he didn't do as good a job on her as I would have liked."

He looked at her like he wanted to hit her but he didn't do anything. "Well that's something at least, although when I find him I'm going to kill him. I know it was him that cloned me again, as if he hadn't gotten his fill the last time." He spoke with utter hatred even more hatred then she had for Supergirl.

"So you're not the first." She stated wanting to know where he was coming from.

He grunted at that and for a moment he thought of just telling her to get lost. But maybe it was the fact that she was a clone herself, someone like him who could at least partially understand him. Plus the fact he knew that she was more powerful then he was too so a fight with her would be pointless. Besides he guessed there was no real harm and these cells were most likely monitored. Maybe if he told the truth it would make life a bit more difficult for Dr. Octopus with earning any type of trust.

"There were a lot of clones made and not all of them were true clones. I don't know how many there were in total. Some that I knew of were mutated, multiple armes, or looked more animal then man, one of the worse was totally deformed on one side and totally insane. There was another that was uncontrollable and put in a power suit of some kind, one that was crafted to the body."

"Anyways the really insane one kidnapped someone that was close to me...to him I mean," He said angrily once again reminding himself those memories didn't belong to him. "Anyways there was a female clone too and one of the father of original. I'll skip the boring details and say there was a fight and clones died. By the end only the female one was left alive, not sure what happened to her these days."

Galatea took all this in, she was just one clone but to have made so many different ones was almost as bad as being just one clone. For her she knew that she wasn't the original but if there were many more copies what would that make her? Yes she was a copy, but she was also unique she was her own person but to have more copies of yourself and she would lose any sense of being her own person.

"I'm sorry...This all has to be hard for you." She said honestly.

He just sighed at her words, "Yeah well I wish they had cloned me from a better time. I still feel the damn pain of the original even though it's not me. They weren't my friends and family he lost and yet I still feel his damn pain. I'm not him so why should I have to suffer for his mistakes?"

She thought she had an opening now and decided to use it. "Now there is something we both agree on. I know I'm not Supergirl but still she has everything. She has a real life, family and friends, and what do I get? Just because we're clones we get nothing but the scraps and the waste? It's not right. We're both living beings we deserve more."

She saw him look at her and for a moment she knew she had touched something in him. "That's why I'm still here. They made me, they gave me birth just like you. I got nothing else but Cadmus, but at least here I can make my own life and we were created to protect this world. We're wanted here and we can make a difference, we can use our powers for the people. That's what Cadmus is here for, to defend to the world against any and all threats no matter what."

A few words strung a few cords with the male clone, he still hated Dr. Octopus for cloning him-no PETER again. But she had a point, why the hell should he be denied a life? Why must he suffer all this pain of remembering the loss of friends and family that wasn't even his? He bet Peter was living it up now while he was here in the dark cells alone, haunted by memories that weren't his.

"I'll leave you to think on it but if you want I'll come by again, it's kind of...nice talking to someone about this. After all who else can understand people like us? People with no real past but have to live in the shadows of another?" She told him as she started to walk to the door but she stopped for a moment.

"Is there something I can call you? I don't want to just say 'hey you' all the time with you." She asked him.

He thought about for a moment and he had the perfect name for himself, it was kind of fitting in a way. "Yeah, I do. You can call me...Kaine."

She smiled at him, "Kaine...I like it."

**-JL Watchtower-**

In the massive training room there was a team battle going on. The two teams were Wonder Woman with Wonder Girl going up against the new member Starfire and Shayera. The other two members had been doing a lot of training together and there had been rumours that the two were very good. Well the two Amazon sisters weren't going to be outdone.

The two sisters worked as a well oiled machine given they had trained together since their youth. Diana had taught Donna a lot of what she knew. But what Starfire and Shayera lacked in team work they made up for in experience, they had a lot more actual combat experience then the other two members. While they had been on that island for most of their lives, Starfire had been a Teen Titan and fought a war. Shayera had years of combat experience among her own people and their war not to mention her experiences with the League too.

Currently they were in a city, but they had removed all the people. This was an exercise on their abilities and not having to fight under real conditions, where you had to worry about innocent people getting in the line of fire.

"Take this," Shouted out Shayera, she was flying in a downward angle and was sending her mace towards Wonder Woman. She got her arms up in time to block the strike with her enchanted bracelets. They could in theory stop anything although her mace did make her feel the shock of the blow.

"Not today," The Amazon said back and moved her arms to the side making the mace move as well. This left Shayera to turn her body or lose her weapon, it also created an opening. Wonder Woman kicked out and hit her in the side, sending the winged alien flying. Although Shayera was still a part of the League for Diana she was still unsure about her. She had considered the woman a sister-in-arms but that betrayal was something that she felt personally betrayed by.

Besides this was the only time she could work out her frustrations on the woman, she just had to remember to hold back...well hold back a little.

Starfire was battling the younger sister and she was proving as capable as her older one. Starfire was flying through the streets with Wonder Girl right behind her. She then turned to face her while flying backwards and sent her star bolts at her. She watched as Donna used her own bracelets to deflect her shots. That was a surprise to the alien princess, that had only happened rarely. She grinned to herself they had been at this for ten minutes already and it was going longer then she had thought.

Starfire flew straight up and Donna followed her, the two warrior women flew at each other trading blows like in a joust. They would fly at the other and trade a blow, then turn and do it again, then again and again. Sometimes the blows would be blocked or cancel each other out. On the last go they had both went for a kick, and both shines connected with each others. A few times the blows landed, when Starfire went for punch to the head, Donna ducked and counted with a short punch to the stomach.

That staggered her enough for Donna to capitalize and with a spinning kick, landed the blow just to the shoulder. Starfire saw the street coming up to her and managed to stop herself a few inches from the ground. She got back onto her feet and saw the Amazon wasn't giving up, she was charging ahead trying to press the momentum. Well Starfire was going to change that, she grabbed a nearby car and flung it at her.

Donna saw it coming but just managed to dodge it, however she was in time to see a star bolt hit the car. It exploded with her next to it, the shockwave of the explosion propelled her into a building. She went through a window into what looked like an office building. She shook her head, there was a ringing in her ears and she felt a few stings but she was okay. 'Okay that was a good move, I got to learn to keep my head in this.' She thought.

Shayera wished she was having better luck, but Diana had always been stronger then her, much stronger. She was feeling just how strong too as a right hook made her see stars for a bit. She shook her head feeling herself fall and when she got her wits about her she looked to see Wonder Woman coming down to her. 'Guess she's still pissed at me, can't say I blame her but damn that nearly felt like she nearly took my head off.'

She had to out think this woman if she wanted to get out of this with her feather intact. She tried to make it look like she was having trouble flying, just slowing her decent just a bit. 'Come on get closer, just a bit closer.'

Just when Diana was close and she knew that a building top was close she made her move. With a powerful movement of her wings she shot up and with her mace hit Diana in the head from surprise. Wonder Woman was sent through the roof of the building and from the sounds of it through a few floors.

"Well that will give me a breather," She signed rubbing the sweat off her forehead. "But she's going to be really pissed by the time she comes out."

The sparing match went on for a few more minutes and the women were getting a major workout as they continued on.

"Time limit reached." Came the disembodied voice of the computer. Everyone stopped as the program shut down. The world dissolved as the holograms turned off and all that was left was the bare ides of the simulator.

"Well I must admit that was most enjoyable," Starfire smiled stretching out her shoulder as they walked to the shower room. "I must thank you all for this, it has been some time since I have taken part in any training session."

"Hey no problem what are friends for?" Shayera asked.

Starfire looked at the red head for a moment, "So we are friends then?"

"Well I think so."

Starfire smiled more at that, "Thank you, it is very hard making new friends here. It is true that I know a few faces here but things have changed so much. Plus it's hard to make new friends when you are the new person around."

"Try being one of the younger members, then it really gets tough." Donna sighed as they got into the locker room area. "I swear sometimes people treat me like I'm a child or something. Especially this one." She nodded her head to her older sister.

"Hey I'm not that bad." Diana said with her hands on her hips.

"You're almost as bad as mother sometimes, I know you want to look out for me but I have to be my own person too sometimes." Donna opened up her personal locker as she started to removed her bracelets. "But it's not that easy to get to know people when they think of you as Wonder Woman's kid sister. Hades the only ones I usually hang out with are Spider-Man, Supergirl, Star Girl or Longshadow."

"What's all this then?" They turned to see Black Canary walking out of the shower area with a towel around her and another in her hair, as she went to her locker.

"Just complaining that it is hard to make friends from certain things getting in the way," Starfire said as she pulled off her boots.

"Although I will admit it is nice having more females around here at least." Shayera said putting her weapon away. She then took the slow process that took her top off, it wasn't easy when you had wings she had to be careful especially since one of them was aching from a blow.

"Now that I can agree one," Diana said as she had already gotten out of her costume and had a towel around her getting her soap and shampoo. "Not that I don't mind men, but at times with so many of them around they can become..." She tried to search for the word.

"I think I know what you mean." Black Canary nodded drying her hair now. "They got their uses but sometimes it's nice to just hang out with the girls."

Donna thought of that as she finished putting her stuff away and closed her locker. "That's true, sure Kara and myself weren't also on good terms but lately we hang out. It's just nice sometimes, although I will admit I think I wouldn't mind at least one evening along with the other women. I hardly know them even after all this time."

"As warriors and comrades in arms we should be closer together then we are now. At least that's what I think." Donna said.

Black Canary had a point, they really didn't know that much about each other which was a shame. Most of them seemed like good people, well that Huntress woman still got on her nerves for some reason. But it wasn't a bad idea to get all the women together. "You know I think you got an idea there, how about we all get together for a night of female bonding? I mean it would allow us some down time with each other."

Starfire perked up at that, "Oh that would be great, I miss the female friendship I had back on the Titans with Raven. Although she was hard to get to know at first before we left we were good friends."

"Hey how about our place sister?"Donna asked Diana. "I mean it's big enough and we never had anyone over either, it's also secure since you're the ambassador for our people too so we won't have to worry about anyone bothering us."

Diana had to admit their places was just too big and empty at times, and she needed a break from it all. Between the League and her new duties to her people it was like she did nothing but work. And she did miss the female companionship that she left back home, it would be nice to relax and to get to know her sisters-in-arms. "I think that could work."

"Cool," Black Canary said as she started to change, "I'll see who else we can get and we'll work out a time. Personally I think this could be good for all of us."

**Nest up Chapter 10: Team Bonding**


	10. Team Bonding

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 10: Team Bonding**

At the apartment home of Diana and Donna, the two sisters were getting ready for the night. They cleaned up a bit and setting things up. They had a few snacks out but they honestly weren't too sure on what to have. Donna just said they would order in whatever they wanted since it would be a lot easier to handle things that way.

So far they had a few people coming that were confirmed, and Starfire wanted to bring an old friend with her as well apparently with whoever Black Canary could round up for things. Donna walked into the large living room area, given that this was a diplomatic building they managed to get a lot of room, so much it was hard to figure out how to decorate the place. There were a few pieces of art that the girls could agree on, some Greek stuff of course, weapons here and there but mainly just for show.

Donna stretched out on the couch, "You know this could be really fun I haven't had a time like this since back home."

Diana sat on a chair across from her, "Yes it's one of the things I miss from home. How are things back there, I know you were there not too long ago but I keep forgetting to ask."

The younger sister sighed, "Well I spent a lot of my time making reports to mom and the others. I don't get much time to spend on my own time but everything was...Well...It's still the same really. Atlanta and Althea were going through that fighting, breaking up and then getting back together phase."

Diana rolled her eyes, those two just seemed to at first attract each other, then push each other away and then get pulled back together. It was a running joke that at one point one of them would kill the other, that is if one of the others didn't just to end it since when they were apart they were miserable and made everyone around them the same.

"Yeah so I'm glad I left quickly...Mom was good and she said hello and her wishes again." Donna toyed with a strand of her hair knowing it was hard for her sister not seeing their mother. There was kind of an awkward silence but thankfully the door bell rang. Both were glad for the break of that conversation as Diana went to the door. She opened it up to see Black Canary in more civilian clothing.

She was in a black halter top but with blue jeans on but still had her leather jacket. With her were the two female heroes Fire and Ice. She knew Ice from her white hair, she was in similar jeans but with a blue shirt on. Fire with her green hair was also hard to miss, after all the tall statuesque Brazilian tended to stand out. She wore black leather pants with a dark green shirt with no sleeves and showed off her stomach.

"Black Canary I see you brought Fire and Ice along." She said as she made room for them to get into the room.

"Yep and let's skip the hero names shall we? You can just call me Dinah instead of Clack Canary." Dinah said smiling hanging up her coat.

"And I'm Tora," Ice said and pointed to Fire. "And she's Beatriz or just Bea for short."

Fire nodded and smiled, "It's nice to be here, I was surprised at first but when Dinah told us what this was about Tora and I thought it would be fun."

"OH yeah a girl's night with everyone would be just great." Tora nodded as they walked into the living room. And she looked at both Diana and Donna. "It's kind of weird too I mean I usually see most of you in costume seeing you all in normal clothing is...well..."

"I know what you mean," Bea nodded as she looked at Diana and Donna. The older of the two was wearing a red blouse with blue jeans while the younger sister although had jeans they hung pretty low on the waist and the top showed off more skin although that was red as well.

Diana looked at her younger sister and sighed a bit, although there was nothing wrong with their bodies and she knew that the human body was a beautiful thing, sometimes she thought that Kara was corrupting her little sister. After all it was Kara that introduced Donna to dressing in those types of clothing. The door rang again so she went to get it, as the others got settled in.

She opened the door and there of course was Koriand'r and a tall slim woman, she was kind of pale looking with shoulder length dark hair and some type of jewel in her forehead. She looked a little uncomfortable and was dressed in a hoodie and baggy jeans. Starfire was in a jacket, t-shirt and pants and she looked very happy. "Hello, I hope you don't mind I brought my good friend Raven to come along."

"Of course the more the merrier," Diana led them inside. "So are you from the Teen Titans that I've heard about?" she asked the pale girl.

"Uh...Yes, Starfire and I were the original members and I came back to help train the new team." She said to the other woman. It was odd, she didn't have many friends outside of the Titans. In fact when Koriand'r left she had been kind of lonely and missed her, when she came back after all these years both had changed but it was nice to have her good friend back.

Raven had over the years managed to get a bit more emotional control over herself, she could let her emotions out a bit more now than when she was a teenager, but she still had to keep some control. When Starfire had come to the Titan Tower and told her about this, she wasn't sure at first. Raven had never been one to make new friends easily, plus these were all people she didn't know about.

But she had only see Starfire a few times since she got back to Earth so she might as well. Besides she knew that Starfire was trying to make a new life for herself and make new friends as well, so Raven figured she might as well meet these new friends.

"Oh cool a new girl, come on and sit down," Donna said to Raven. "Nice to meet new heroes."

Raven nodded her head as she sat down as the women started to talk with each other. Soon after Shayera showed up with Mari Jiwe McCabe AKA Vixen, Supergirl showed up with Barbara Gordon a good friend of hers. Although most of them didn't know that she was Batgirl but this was a no mask and tights night anyway, so they were all just hanging out as normal people for a chance. Courtney Whitmore AKA Stargirl unfortunately wasn't allowed to come since it was s school night and she had needed to study for a test the next day.

By now everyone that would be showing up was here as they gathered around talking and getting to know one another. Barbara was giving Starfire a bit of a birth, she had nothing against her but it was hard to know that this was Dick's first great love. She knew nothing about her really and it kind of bothered her that Dick never talked about such things with her. Did that mean he didn't trust her or was it that Starfire had hurt him really badly when she left and he locked that pain up?

She knew that she had hurt Dick as well and she hated herself for it, but at least she had managed to patch some things up. Anyways she shook those thoughts aside now was the not the time to get into those, even though she could have become a part of the League Barbara wasn't the type for it. She preferred just sticking to Gotham, she was comfortable there and someone had to look out for the little guy.

Besides she worked with Batman enough as it was, and being part of a much larger team with him as one of the heads just wasn't for her. At least when he was busy with the League she had freedom to handle things in Gotham her way.

"I'm glad you could bring Barbara, I only heard about you but from what I heard you're a good friend to Kara." Donna said and shook her hand.

"Thanks, Kara was the first real friend I made in our line of work and trust me it's nice. You can't imagine what it's like to keep these secrets bottled up all the time and not have anyone to vent to." Barbara smiled at Kara.

"Hey what are friends for right?" Kara smiled back.

"Hey you got anything to drink?" Dinah asked Diana looking around the place. "I could use something about now. How about the rest of you?"

"Yeah that sounds nice." Ice said looking at what looked like a small Greek statue, she wasn't too surprised.

Diana went back but the only real thing she had was bottled water or wine. She wasn't even sure what kind if was either it was one of those gifts you get at official functions sometimes. She just shrugged her shoulders, she might as well get some use out of it for the time being. She came back with glasses and started to pour. Kara reached for one but Dinah snacked it away from her.

"Hey!" Kara snapped.

"And you're how old again?" Dinah asked her.

"Oh come on it's only wine it's not like we're drinking shooters or something." Kara rolled her eyes. "I mean I'm living on my own, with my boyfriend, going to college, got a job and put my life on the line. And you're saying just because I'm not twenty-one yet I'm still not allowed to drink?"

"In a word...Yes." Dinah smirked and took a sip as Kara glared at her.

"Oh come on," Donna said at this. "It's our house and I think she can handle it."

"So says the other underage girl," Dinah smirked.

"I'll have you know just because I look nineteen doesn't mean I am. I'm actually older then all of you here besides my sister, together." Donna said triumphantly. "Besides I've had wine before it's part of some of the ceremonies we have back home."

"She is an alien anyway it might not even effect her," Starfire commented after al l she knew that not everything effected aliens the same way as humans. Like how her sense of taste was different than a human's.

"Oh I say let her as long as she doesn't take too much," Vixen waved her hand at it all. "I think she's earned it and it wouldn't be fair."

Diana thought it over and gave her a glass, Kara smiled feeling a bit more like they were seeing her as an adult. She had managed to sneak a drink a few times before, back with her high school friends in Smallville had snuck a few drinks before. Although she had taken a few they really didn't affect her, so she got the feeling that the amount of alcohol that could make a Kryptonian drunk would blind or kill a human.

**-Peter and Kara's place-**

Wally West was sitting on Peter's couch watching the game as Peter came back with a drink. "Here ya go buddy." Peter said handing him the drink.

"Hey thanks man." Wally drank it down.

"Oh come on that's a personal foul." John said to the screen. "I can't believe the ref didn't call that."

"Man it's amazing how he loosens up when you sit him in front of a basketball game." Wally whispered to Peter who tried not to laugh at it. It was nice to see Earth's Green Lantern actually relaxing for once. Peter hadn't planned on anything tonight and Wally being bored asked if he and John could come over and watch the game.

For Peter he didn't mind at all, he liked having the guys over and with Kara out for the night he didn't mind some time with the guys. Besides he couldn't remember the last time, if ever he had enough male friends to spend the night with. Actually this was a first for him as he thought about it, back home he did have Johnny but as the Human Torch he was usually busy, plus with no secret identity it was hard to hang out with him as just Peter Parker.

Well he was glad that he and Kitty were dating at least, maybe they would be good for each other. He took a drink as he watched the game, he wished it was New York playing but so far it was just Boston and Detroit. "So how come Clark couldn't make it?" Peter asked the others.

"He wanted to spend some time with Lois," Wally said grabbing some chips in a bowl in front of him. "He said that he hasn't taken her out enough lately and he got the feeling she was feeling a bit neglected. So he had this whole romantic thing of flying her off to Paris for the night."

"Damn he really knows how to keep a girl happy, plus at least he can do something like that. Well you can go at super speed and John can just fly there almost as fast." Peter pointed out. "My girlfriend can fly herself so she's usually the one whisking me away...that didn't sound manly did it?"

"Hell no." Wally smiled.

"Hey at least he's got a girl what about you? So far besides Bruce you're the only one single." John said taking a beer he had next to him.

"Who I might add has mostly likely slept with half the playmates of Playboy magazine, actresses, singers, and more hotties than the entire Kennedy family combined." Peter said.

"Pretty odd for a guy that actually has emotional issues," Wally shook his head, he knew it was all part of the act that Bruce did. Making everyone think he was just a party billionaire and all but honestly, there was just no justice in the world it seemed. "Speaking of ladies where are your other halves tonight?"

**-Back with the Female members-**

"Shayera went out with some friends tonight, said something about female bonding." John shrugged.

"Huh Kara said the same thing only she said they were going over to Diana and Donna's place to meet up with a few others there." Peter commented.

At that Flash stopped in mid reach for another handful of snacks. "You mean to tell me that the most likely several of the League women are having a sleepover at their place?" Wally started to get a grin on his face at the thought of all those women in nothing but underwear or skimpy sleep wear. He sat back with a sigh, "Oh man would I love to see that."

"Great he's gone to the land of perverted fantasy again." Peter shook his head.

"Leave him, it will give us a few moments of quiet at least." John knew things wouldn't be whatever Wally imagined. He didn't know and he didn't care it was their night and he respected their privacy, as long as Shayera didn't tell them anything embarrassing but she wouldn't do that...Would she?"

-Diana's and Donna's place-

Vixen was currently laughing so hard that she was holding her stomach, "Oh god he actually folds his socks and underwear into perfectly sized shapes?"

Shayera nodded her head. "Oh yeah his whole place has so much order to it, I swear when I'm not around it's like he takes a ruler out and measures things." The women started to laugh again at that. "But despite that I love the big guy, at least he knows how to be romantic at times. Among my people romance wasn't like here on Earth. It usually consisted of a battle as foreplay at times."

"Ah I think I can see that," Starfire nodded. "Before I came to Earth I too found a few new ideas that I liked. It's strange but I like them, and Dick was so nice when he wasn't totally embarrassed."

"Although when you two were going out it was kind of sickening," Raven sighed drinking some tea. "You have no idea what it was like when those two were all lovey dovey all the time."

"Oh?" Starfire said crossing her arms, "Vic told me about you and Gar so don't you try and say we were bad."

Raven despite herself actually blushed a bit, "We're not that bad." She said also making secret plans to get back a Cyborg when she got back to the Tower. He was so dead if he couldn't keep that big mouth of his shut.

"So who is Gar?" Kara said grinning leaning forward. "I take it that's your boyfriend then?"

Raven hid her head with her hair looking down, but Vixen tapped her lightly on the arm. "Oh come on it's just us girls you can tell us. What's this Gar like anyway?"

"He's...He's always been a bit of a goof actually," Raven said softly. "Always making jokes and pranks, but he always tried to cheer everyone up. He spent years trying to make me laugh, and have fun. He tried so hard just to make me happy, it took me awhile to figure out it was because he cared about me." She told them how after the Titans disbanded they each went their separate ways. Beast Boy had gone back to the Doom Patrol for a couple of years and she had gone on a journey of self discovery.

Cyborg had found them and decided to try and make a new team, with them teaching the next generation. When she had seen Beat Boy again he had grown up a lot, he was taller and more filled out as well. He was a bit more of an adult but still had that playful nature of his. And it was then that she realized how much she had missed him, soon they fell into the same old pattern of him trying to make her happy and she trying not to. But after all this time she wanted to be happy and maybe a bit more.

"I honestly don't know how it happened, we were out seeing a movie he dragged me too. We went for a walk and then of all things it rained on us. We ducked under a large overhand to get out of it, the next thing I know he's pushing a strand of wet hair out of my face. There was this moment where we just looked at each other and the next thing I know...He's kissing me." Raven blushed at the moment, it had been one of the memories that she cherished.

"Oh that's so romantic." Kara sighed to herself.

"Then what?" Fire asked her eager to know what happened next.

"Well...I kissed back but we were both so surprised we broke apart. We spent a week avoiding each other and when Cyborg locked us up in a room until we talked things out. Well we talked and...Well we've been dating ever since." Raven felt strange opening up to these women but it was nice to finally talk about it. Then she was grabbed by Starfire in a large hug.

"I am so happy for you! It's just so nice to see you happy with him." Starfire smiled hugging her friend.

"Uh...You might want to let her go," Ice said pointing to Raven. "She's turning blue."

Starfire let go quickly noticing that as Raven took a deep breath and glared at the alien.

"Well he sounds like Peter in a way." Kara sat back taking another sip of the red wine. "He's like that but he can be really sweet as well. He took me out to this great dinner with even dancing of all things, plus when I got my tooth replaced and was told to take it easy he made sure I was all comfortable."

"Yeah sometimes men can be such softies to us when they think we really need them, but it's nice." Shayera smiled remembering how when she got sick for a week John wouldn't leave her side. It was annoying at times but it was touching too.

"Great now I'm feeling left out being single," Ice signed. "Just out of curiosity who isn't still single here?"

So far only Kara, Raven, Shayera raised their hands, Fire shook her head at that. "You know you'd think women who were all attractive, strong and independent would be able to find at least one decent man." Fire said to everyone.

"Hey I don't have trouble," Vixen smirked. "For a steady guy yeah but I also work both as a hero and model and it's not easy. But finding a nice guy to spend the night with at least is easy enough."

"Why is having a man so important?" Diana asked everyone there, she knew that some women seemed to put a lot of importance but her people have lived without men for a very long time.

"Oh we have so much to teach you," Dinah smirked.

**Next up chapter 11: Men are from Mars...**

**Things continue on in the next chapter.**


	11. Men are from Mars

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 11: Men are from Mars...**

Diana crossed her arms as she leaned back against her soft chair, "What do you mean by that Dinah?"

Black Canary smiled in her own seat, "Oh come on you've been outside of the island for a few years now and you're telling me you never been attracted to any male or had any type of relationship? Especially given I have to admit you have some looks I wouldn't mind."

Diana thought about it and there had been only really two people, first had been with the fighter pilot from World War II, it had been her first kiss by a man really and she felt something about him. She never told anyone not ever her sister how she had kept going to him in that old folks home. They would talk and she would always came by. She frown a bit thinking on how last year he had finally passed away, she had gone to his funeral and met his family. She had told them that he had been a friend of her mother's and that's how she met him.

She had just been wearing the costume and just wanted to be a normal person that day, plus telling them that she had met him in the 1940s would have been too strange. She had cared about him even though she had only known him for a short time. Then there was Bruce, the man was a puzzle to her. And yet there was just something about him, he was a warrior with no equal, he stood up to gods and demons with no powers without flinching. He would have been a perfect warrior from the old days, like Persus, Achillies, Hector, and others. Maybe that was part of the attraction to him, and yet there was something else, she knew that he hid a deep pain in him something that he still felt so a part of her just wanted to hold him and take that pain away.

"Yeah I know for a fact she has a thing for Batman." Donna said with a shrug as Diana went wide eyed and glared at her sister. "Oh come on I think everyone knows or at least things it by now."

"Great just great," Diana sighed rubbing her temples.

"Oh so she's got a thing for Batman," Ice grinned, "Okay I can see the whole tall, dark and I hope handsome under that mask of his." If she only knew, the few that knew who was under that mask thought to themselves.

"I don't know he's kind of scary to me, I was on a mission with him and I got chills every time he would just look at me." Fire moved as though uncomfortable in her seat next to her friend.

"Actually I heard he's actually kind of nice once you get past his defences." Dinah said.

"Yeah right who told you that?" Vixen asked curious.

"Zatana," The blonde responded, "We got to talking once on a stakeout and she told me that she actually dated him before he was Batman. They were kind of like teenage sweethearts actually."

"No way!" Vixen said shocked by that as were everyone else. "She actually dated Batman? Did she say who he was?"

"No damn it, she was pretty tight lipped about it but if you're interested Diana you might want to look her up. I tried getting her here for this but she had a sold out magic show to do tonight." Dinah told her. Diana nodded although she felt conflicted, it would be nice to get some insight into Bruce but she never once thought that anyone in the new League would be an ex-girlfriend. Now she was thinking of possible reasons other than professional as to why Zatana was in the League.

She shook those thoughts away she was just being stupid, Bruce wasn't like that...At least not that she knew.

"You know I never would have thought that anyone in this business could have dated that guy but then again I bet he was a bit less...dark and brooding back then." Shayera commented since she knew that Batman was Bruce Wayne she had a better understanding then a few of the others here.

"Man you just never know the kind of things you can dig up at one of these, we should have them more often," Kara whispered to Donna who nodded her head.

"Anyways getting back to the question you haven't been in any relationship?" Vixen turned to the Amazon.

"No...I've...Been close but never actually dated...Well a real one anyway." She shrugged.

"You need to get out more," Fire said refilling her class and then Ice's glass as well. "Although I do admit I think that Flash is kind of cute, does anyone know if he's single?"

"Well he could be, with him it's hard to know what he's doing since he's all over the place." Shayera said trying to think about it. She didn't remember Wally mentioning anyone special, he was usually too budy casing more women then should be healthy sometimes. That or just trying to do several things at once, trying to keep track of Flash would take several people with how fast he moved.

"Is that why you keep acting so shy around him?" Ice grinned at her best friend. "I knew there was something going on, usually you're a lot more confident around men but why is Flash so different?"

"This even I got to hear." Vixen grinned.

"I don't know he's just so...well...He's fun, confident, and from what I see really cares about others. Plus he makes me laugh," Fire shrugged, "I mean I still laugh at those things that Spider-Man and him pulled a few months ago."

"Oh god that prank contest of theirs when they tried to one up the other." Shayera pitched the bridge of her nose. "That was a nightmare."

"Oh come on it was funny." Supergirl laughed at some of the things those two had pulled. Although not all of them could be linked to either one of them but still it was just assumed. "I still remember how all the doors would play music sometimes. Like the theme for Rocky for the gym, Thriller by Micheal Jackson, and others...let's see...I think I remember a James Bond one for the hanger, no wait it was for the tech labs, it was the Star Wars theme for the hanger."

"God I wish I had seen that," Barbara laughed, "Although who did the thing with the slime that would at random times rain down on people in the elevator?"

"Not sure but I had to guess Flash," Diana muttered darkly she had been nailed three times by that prank. "I ripped it out once and it was back again later that day only he would be fast enough to put a new device back and refill it with no one noticing."

"I swear sometimes men can either be very childlike but I think that's one of the endearing things about them." Vixen said.

"I think so," Raven nodded her head. "Gar is a lot like that, he used to pull pranks all the time and at times he can be immature. But when he's actually serious he's really nice to be around."

"And I bet an animal in the bed?" Vixen grinned while Raven just blushed a deep red. Vixen laughed out loud, "Well that answers that."

"He's not...well...not all the time, but he can be very gentle and caring." Raven blushed very hard defending Beat Boy. He treated her very well and she wanted people to get the right idea about him. After all he was the first real love of her life and although she didn't want to get too in depth into their love life she wanted to set a few things straight.

"Sounds like Peter," Kara sighed leaning back into her chair, "He's so caring and I don't mind it when we get a bit more physical too." A grin slowly grew on her face. "God I swear one time we were-"

"Okay I think I heard enough there." Shayera smiled holding up her hand, she really didn't want to think of Peter in that way he was a good friend to her when he first got here and in some ways was like a little brother to her almost.

"Says you," Barbara and Donna said at once causing some laughing.

"Okay I'm a little lost here but you keep saying Peter but I thought you were going out with Spider-Man?" Ice asked the blonde although he had a pretty good idea what was going on. Kara stopped her laughter that moment and froze in horror. She normally hung out with people that knew Peter's duel identity and so she forgot that the most of the League didn't know his real identity, like with a few others such as Batman, Questions and a few others.

Ice however waved it off, "Hey it's okay you didn't way a last name and I can relate that some of the people we work with want to keep their identity secret."

"Thanks," Kara sighed and mentally smacked herself for that slip. "I'm used to having everyone I talk to knowing who he is."

"That's okay but just so we can settle a bet between me and a few other girls...is he cute under that mask?" She grinned causing a new round of laughter.

"Yes he is, nice brown hair and brown eyes that are so caring. He's handsome not overly so but he's got this boy next door look, you know the kind of nice boy your parents would want you to bring home?" Kara explained.

"Lucky you." Ice smirked.

"I know." She agreed.

"Great now I'm starting to feel left out," Vixen said to the group. "You know I know a few of us are in relationships but do at least a few of us have something going? Dinah I heard you were interested in Green Arrow lately."

The blonde nodded her head, "Yeah he's actually kind of surprising once you get through the macho exterior. And yes I have gone on two dates with the man and he surprised me he can actually be a gentleman when he wants to. We're not exactly a couple...but...I'm not discounting that possibility."

"Well that's good what about the others?" Vixen asked around.

Barbara scratched the back of her head, "Well...I have met this nice guy, kind of has an ego but nothing major. He stops by Gotham now and then and he seems really interesting, and given the last time I had a decent date has been way too long this is a nice step up."

Kara put a glass to her lips hiding the smirk on her lips, she hadn't heard how good an impression Speedy had made but from the sounds of things Barbara might be interested. At first she had thought the jealousy might get Dick into action when he heard but seeing Starfire and getting to know her. Well maybe Kara was thinking of trying to think maybe setting her friend up with Speedy might be good for Barbara for a new relationship. She knew her friend had a major dry run lately in the relationship department and needed help.

"Well we know about Fire but how about you?" Shayera asked Ice.

The white haired hero shrugged, "Not sure there are a few interesting people but so far I've been too busy to date, but I'm not opposed to it."

"What about you and Nightwing?" Raven asked Starfire startling the alien. "I know you two used to be something but you've been spending a lot of time with him lately. Are you thinking of getting back together with him?"

"Uh...Well..." Starfire wasn't sure how to answer that. "It had been a long time...But he was my first love too...Plus I'm trying to rebuild my life but...I do miss what I had with him..."

"Then I say got for it girl," Vixen told her. "Hell might as well give it a shot since if you wait around someone else could get him. But you could always try for someone else too, that's one of the perks of dating if there could be anyone out there for you if you tried."

"I still don't get why you place so much importance on this concept of 'having a man' in your life," Diana shook her head. "Yes even I admit there are moments when even I wouldn't mind having some...companionship."

"You could always break into the Batcave and tie Batman down and have your way with him," Donna smirked at her sister making the other Amazon blush at the idea. "Hades he might even enjoy that." That caused a round of large laughter at the thought of that, even Barbara had to admit that was something she would love to see. Bruce tied down to a bed and given she knew how much he liked to be in control how much he'd hate it.

Diana gave her sister a little smirk of her own, "Oh and that was very quick idea, are you thinking of doing the same to Longshadow?" That caused Donna to stop laughing and was shocked by what her sister said although the blush on her cheeks told everyone that there might be something to it.

"Oh kinky Donna, although if you want to tie someone up webs are the way to go." Kara said taking another drink and then paused when she saw everyone looking at her and realized what she had said. "Oh god I think maybe Kryptonians might be affected by alcohol after all." She put down her glass as she tried to keep her mouth shut.

"Webs huh?" Barbara smirked at her as the blond aliens seemed to shrink down into her seat. Kara pulled a pillow over her wishing she was dead at that moment.

"Anyways I think Donna and Longshadow make a nice couple," Starfire said smiling at the younger sister. She had seen the two together and it was really sweet how they acted around each other. It sort of reminded of her youth with Dick although Longshadow seemed to be more open about his emotions which would have saved a lot of time with Dick, she reflected.

"True the boy is built like freaking Hercules." Fire said and then noticed the glares from both Diana and Donna. "What? What did I say?"

"Never say that name in front of us ever again," Donna said in a surprisingly cold voice. "That _man's_ name is a forbidden word among our people."

"Whoa you mean Hercules? Why?" Dinah asked wondering why these two were so pissed.

Diana sighed as she thought about the story. "It happened before I was born, but I heard it from my mother and others who were alive at that time. Hercules came to our island to steal an object of power from my mother for one of his labours. He tried to fight my mother for it but failed, she showed him kindness and he seemed to accept it. It turned out that he was only playing along, he drugged the wine that was served that night."

"When they woke up the ship full of pirates that took him to our land had all of us in chains. He took my mothers belt of power as well as most of the others that the Amazons wore. But he didn't leave right away, for the next while he and those men turned my sisters into slaves. Making them do whatever they wanted and they did whatever they wanted to them..."

"You mean..." Barbara asked knowing where this was going and Donna looked very uncomfortable about it.

"Raped them, yes...Hercules took pleasure from our mother and left after a short time. But the other men stayed. It took time by my sisters managed to free themselves and then they paid for it. It was after that, the rule of no man to set foot on our island was made."

The room was a silent after that, Shayera had seen that island herself and heard what the others had to say their first time there. She heard how the women had kept giving the men uneasy looks or even looks of anger or even hatred. Now she could see the reasoning behind it, apparently time couldn't heal all wounds and that was true even for those that didn't seem to age. Although all the women in the room couldn't blame the Amazons but now they all had a bit of a deeper understanding of how they thought.

"Well...that's a downer," Vixen sighed. "Although I'm glad they got what was coming to them but not all men are like that, hell not all women are victims either. We've all seen that anyone man or woman are capable of either great good or great evil."

Diana nodded her head, "Yes I have seen this myself and it's something that I hope my sisters will come to see one day as well."

"True and that's something that I hope to help out as well," Donna nodded her head.

By then everyone was feeling a bit more comfortable and things were getting back to a few other topics as they compared more interests. They got more relaxed and traded stories and what was going on in their lives. It was turning out to be a very nice night, even Kara came out of her 'hiding' from behind the large pillow. Diana was having a great time too, it was nice having other females around she hadn't felt like this since she left home. In fact to her it was like she had a small piece of home again with these women, she was even starting to warm back up to Shayera but there was still a lot of ground to cover with her.

Donna was feeling more included with the women as well, being one of the youngest was hard but she finally felt like she was starting to be seen as more than just the 'kid sister', or at least she felt that way. She knew that she had been in her sister's shadow since coming here but she didn't mind that all that much. Donna loved and adored her older sister and she had done well for herself here, she only hoped that she would do just as well.

By the end of the night before everyone went home they agreed that this should be a regular thing between them. It certainly would make for interesting nights as well as helping them bond as team mates.

**-Peter's place-**

The game was winding down and the boys were nice and relaxed. John put away the last beer he brought with him as Peter didn't drink. Wally already had a few but thanks to his powers he just burned through the beer faster then it could take effect. Peter was on his favourite chair as he watched the game, although by now it was pretty obvious who the winner would be.

"You know I still say we could sneak over there," Wally said for the unknown number of times. All night long he had said they could just take a peek at what the women were doing. But Peter and John were smarter than that, and they weren't insane. It would be bad enough to get caught by just one of them but all those women together in one place angry at them? It was too much of a bad idea for the other two.

"I mean just a peek?" Wally said looking at his two friends who shot him duel glares.

"Wally knock it off will ya, and for the last time it's not a sleepover so they aren't in sleepwear of any kind. Besides my girlfriend is there and I already see her in that and there is no way I want you to see her in nothing short of her usual clothing." John said with authority.

Peter nodded a bit although he was more relaxed about it. "Ditto, besides as far as I know they don't got a telepath but have you forgotten that I'm dating a girl with super hearing and eye sight?"

Wally had thought of that he just figured he was fast enough to get by without getting caught.

"Besides I like having nights with Kara in my bed and who knows how long she would be mad if we did something stupid to ruin her night." He continued.

That got Flash thinking about something that had been bothering him, "That reminds me, how come you two still have your own rooms? I mean you live together and are now dating right? So what gives?"

"You seen her room right?" Peter motioned to the area where the door to Kara's room roughly was.

Flash thought about it, he had seen her room and it was kind of girly. Pictures of boy band posters, a few stuffed animals, and a few other cute things. And now he suddenly thought he was seeing where this was going. "Ah...If you two shared a bedroom then one of you would have to move some of their stuff out to make room for the other."

"Yep," Peter nodded he knew that Wally was actually a bit smarter then he let on, at least to some things he wasn't totally book smart like he was, but he could have his moments of insight. "Plus with our way of living at least we don't wake the other up if we're up late."

"That actually sounds like a good idea to me," John said as he thought about it.

"So when are you and the Bird Lady going to move in?" Peter grinned at him.

John just grunted although he had been thinking about it there were a few problems. One was that they lived in two different cities and they would have to move, plus that meant finding a new life to live. Then they would have to move their stuff as well. Although he knew they were both willing they couldn't agree on that situation. "It's complicated kid."

Peter shrugged and left it at that as they finished the game together. Peter sat back feeling like those times back home when he was just hanging out with the few friends he had. Although Peter was making new friends it was hard to tell people who was behind the mask and pretty much impossible to tell the people he knew from work that he wore one. Only a few people he trusted with his full identity and it was hard for him to do that. He knew that he should but the thing was he was afraid to.

Not for the regular reasons, although he was a lot better than he had been he still wasn't over the last major tragedy of his life. He doubted he ever would, he lost everything that he cared for in a night, the first great love of his life died in his arms. He still had nightmares and woke up with tears on his face or Kara holding him and trying to calm him down.

He was afraid that the more people that got close to him, the more likely he would lose more people he cared for. He wasn't sure if he could handle something like that again so soon. But as he sat there with John and Wally he didn't feel afraid, he felt good and he let a real smile touch his face.

Yeah he hadn't had the best life but at least it was moments like this that made things worth it.

**Next up Chapter 12: Young Heroes**


	12. Young Heroes

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 12: Young Heroes**

Superman was walking the corridors of the Tower as he was on his way to see someone, lately things had been quiet, well as quiet as things got at any rate. There were the usual sorts that caused trouble here and there, natural disasters too of course and other such things but overall it was fairly tame. No large scale bids for power, no one trying to take over/destroy the Earth. He was actually liking the small break plus it would be the perfect time for a certain mission to be carried out.

He entered into one of the labs and he found the Atom and Spider-man working on something. Ever since those two met they had been building strange projects, looking over the lab he saw a few that were complete, others that weren't and a few he couldn't even guess at. He looked as the two were currently working on some type of device. Atom was shrunk down to the size of an inch as he was taking a closer look at a circuit panel with Peter sitting on the wall.

"I'm telling you the power needs to be reduced at full power it will burn out in minutes." Peter told him.

"Yeah well we might not need it at full power." Atom said back and Superman had to enhance his hearing a bit to pick it up since he was across the room.

"But what if we do? Usually that's how these things work, you start off with the normal level then something unexpected happens and you got to crank it up. Never fails to happen and I do not want this to burn out on me."

"How can you be certain that will even happen?"

"Dude how long have you been doing this? It's always happens."

Atom thought about it for a moment, "Okay so we add a few more resistors to a few parts that should help it and won't require too much of a redesign."

Clark felt now was the time to make his presence known as he walked over to them, they hard the footsteps on the metal floor and both looked at him. "Hey Sups what's up?" Peter waved at him, and Superman smiled back as Atom took his full size.

"So what are you two working on here?" Superman asked looking at the strange device.

"Power amplifier for the Javelins, mainly something to help it fly a bit faster." Atom said to the other hero. "Although it's not really done yet, and then we still got to test it out as well."

"True but man I can't wait to try it out," Peter grinned under his mask.

Superman nodded and looked to Peter, "Can I talk to you for a moment, I have a mission that I'd like you to take."

"Sure," He jumped down next to the alien, "I'll see you later Atom and I'll try and figure something out for that null field generator." Atom nodded his head as Peter walked with Superman down the halls. After a while Peter had gotten used to this place, when he first got here it had been just him but then they started to add in both the heroes and all the staff members. It helped to make the place a more 'homey' in a way, less impersonal he guessed.

"So what's up? And what team will I be going on?" Peter asked as they walked on.

"Actually it's a solo mission for you," He smirked knowing from the body language that Peter was a bit surprised by that, but he didn't freeze on the spot and kept on walking. "You see you're aware of certain members that are on reserve status, well I want you to check in on two members. Lately their city has had a major reduction in crime and I think it's time for them to slowly being put on more missions."

"So you're going down there to basically evaluate them." Superman said.

"Uh...Okay but why me? Shouldn't one of the core members have a say?" Spider-Man asked.

Superman nodded his head, "Yes and they will have the final say but it will be your report that they'll read and make their final decision on. Plus there are other reasons such as despite your youth you've got a good head on your shoulders, and the fact they may feel less intimated about you given their ages."

"Ages?"

"Yes you'll be going to the city of Dakota to evaluate the teenage heroes Static and Gears."

Peter nodded his head he remembered meeting them a few times, in fact that first time had been when the new League was opened up. From what he remembered Static had some type of electrical powers and Gears was an even bigger brain then he was. "So...How do I get in touch with them just swing around and hope to run into them? I mean it may be Friday but I have to get to college and work to do as well. Plus where am I going to stay?"

"Don't worry, Bruce set up a hotel and we'll be teleporting you to the city. If you need to you can bring what you need with you and if it runs long we can set it up to teleport you around."

Peter shook his head, "Man you guys must love to use that thing, although I'll admit I do feel like Captain Kirk whenever I use it. Okay I guess I can do it, nothing else mush going on lately anyway...oh crap."

"What?"

Peter sighed, "Kara wanted to go see one of the shows on Broadway, looks like I'm going to cancel on her and she'll understand but she won't be happy about it." That was one of the things that Kara loved about New York, all the shows. He remembered how she went to several on her first week there, he had to admit she was learning to love his city. He had even taken Donna to one once back before he and Kara were dating, that was back when Donna was looking for a bit more then friendship from him but thankfully things worked out.

Clark nodded his head, he knew exactly what Peter was going through. He lost count on the times he had to give Lois a rain check whenever he needed to go. But he did make it up to her later, "Bring her back something nice it will help."

"Yeah thanks." Peter nodded his head, it had been a bit weird between them at one point. After all he was dating his young cousin after all, and he tended to treat her almost like a little sister. But now they were both a bit more comfortable around it.

**-Cadmus-**

Professor Hamilton was walking to the high level security wing as he was going to get Galatea, he had been given a new mission for Galatea and he knew that she would jump at the chance. She hadn't had a mission since she had been recovered and healed from her injuries. At this moment she was having one of her talks with the clone that he found out was calling himself Kaine now. He wasn't sure about the name but the clone did seem a bit more relaxed and with luck would be ready for the new team.

That was gaining completion too, as the other members of that team were nearly done with their growth cycle. Soon they would have their own super powered team, one that wasn't like the failed Ultimen. They had tried to create new heroes from mixed DNA and that ended in failure. Now they were trying with more complete DNA that would be more stable.

When he got to the heavy door with the guards he was surprised that it opened as Galatea stepped out. By the looks of it she had just finished another of her talks with Kaine and she was surprised to see him as well when she noticed him coming. She gave a small smile as she walked up to him.

"Galatea how are the talks going?" He asked her.

"They are going pretty well actually, he seems to be thinking about things now but I wouldn't be surprised if he came to our side. After all he's got nothing else going for him," She told him, plus there was the fact that she hoped he would. He was the first other clone she got to talk to, she never had any contact with the Ultimen and so it was nice to have someone that she felt could understand her. It was hard being a clone, knowing you were just a copy and not an original.

You had to fight to get anything that was yours, instead of another person's. No one had been there for her when she went through this but she could be there for him, and in a way it made her feel a bit better as well. She felt like she was getting a connection with him and maybe he could be the first real friend she ever had as well.

Hamilton nodded his head, "Well that's good then, but I came to see you for another reason. There's a mission and we felt it was time for you to get back into the field." He saw her eyes light up at that, he knew that she was getting restless with nothing to do. "It's mainly a search mission but if you find your target your to capture and bring it back here."

She gave a grin that reminded him of a predator, "So what's my target?"

"There is a city called Dakota, there used to be a major meta-human presence in the city of 'Bang-Babies' but after a cure was found all but three people lost their powers. However there have been reports of something in the city. We think it could be at least another of the surviving Bang-Babies."

"Why don't we just take the three that we know?" She asked.

He shook his head, "It's too high risk, they are too public and at least two have been seen in the company of the League. So we want you to go in there and find whatever or whoever it is and bring them here. We might learn a bit from the subject for future research, do you think you can handle it?"

She walked past him grinning, "Just watch me father."

Galatea had been hoping for another mission, she would have to get ready and with this kind of mission she might need to keep a low profile. At least for awhile, although she would see Kaine before she left to tell him that she would be gone for a few times, that was the one thing she would miss, she looked forward to her talks. They were actually the high point of her day, other than her talks it was just lots of training, sitting around waiting, tests to see if she was holding up genetically, and lots of other boring things. She needed to get out again although she wouldn't meet Supergirl again she could wait.

**-Dakota-**

In an ordinary home in a residential area, a young teenage high school boy was in his kitchen looking for that power drink he had put in there. He was Virgil Hawkins, a African American boy with dreadlocks but he was also the young hero Static. "Now where did I put that-Ah there it is." He pulled out the plastic bottle that was half filled with a purple liquid that was definitely not found in nature as he drank it down.

He made his way into the living room seeing his older sister there on the couch talking to her friends on the phone line again. He sighed knowing that she would be tying it up for hours still, and he wanted to give Daisy his girlfriend a call. Normally he would bug her about this but he just let it go for once, he could call Daisy later anyway. He finished the drink as he got to his room as he threw it into the trash, then it was time to get his backpack and stuff his uniform and a few other things such as the collapsible disk he used to fly that Richie made for him.

There was a knock at his door and he quickly closed it up, "Yo come on in." He sighed seeing his father there, for a minute he through Sharon was going to bug him for something. "Hey pop what's up?"

"I was going to the youth center to help out with a new computer system they're setting up and I wanted to see how you were doing." He then noticed the back pack. "Going out tonight son?"

"Yeah me and Richie are going to do the usual patrolling but man it's been pretty dead here, no more super bad guys to fight. I mean it's cool and all for the city but I kind of miss it, I feel like I'm not doing enough with my powers." He told his dad. This was something that was nice to have, his father had found out who Static and Gear were and surprisingly his dad was pretty cool about it. Sure there were a few ground rules but nothing major, plus he helped to keep Sharon off his back too. Also it was nice to be able to talk to his dad about this, he had gone through a lot of things without being able to talk with him about and this was nice to have.

"Son I'm sure you're doing great out there, every time you help just one person you make a difference. I know if your mother was here she'd be happy with what you were doing." He said to him, his wife had died in the riots a few years back, shot by a total stranger just trying to help out. Virgil had been pretty young but he knew that his wife would approve of the kind of man their son turned out to be. Hell not every parent could say they raised a super hero, even if he couldn't tell anyone.

"Thanks dad," Virgil said slinging on his back pack. "I should be back for dinner unless something major turns up but I doubt it."

Across the city in a hotel Peter Parker was being shown his room, it was a pretty decent hotel as a young woman who had been working the desk showed him the way. "Here you go sir." She opened up the door and he hadn't been in many hotels but this wasn't too bad. Single bed, a TV, a bathroom and most importantly a balcony which would make things a lot more easier.

"Hey thanks and please don't 'sir' me I'm only nineteen," He laughed as she nodded and smiled at him. He threw a suitcase onto the bed and opened it up. There was the usual clothing but he took those out, and opened up the zipper under it. As it peeled back the layer he saw his costume and web shooters, 'Ah hello boys.' He thought as he pulled them out.

"Okay let's see, costume check. Shooters ready to rock and roll, check. Address for their secret hideout-although not much of a 'secret' if I got it in my hand-but check. And most importantly," He pulled out a map of Dakota. "Ah here we go, I swear I'm never going to live that Metropolis thing down doesn't help that this freaking world just had to have cities that don't exist in mine."

He put on the suit and making sure that a lamp was on to mark his room he leapt out into the world to try and find this gas station that he was to look out for.

**-Later-**

Virgil was in his Static uniform, a mainly black and blue costume with some gold on it, that was pants, shirt and a long tailed jacked with a mask. He was using his power to fly over the city on his disk and he saw Gears (Richie Foley). Gears was a one piece suit of two different shades of green with the no sleeves, a helmet and of course Backpack, the AI device that was on his back.

Gears heard him coming and waved to him, "Hey what's up man?"

"Nothing as usual."

"I hear that things sure got dull around here." He nodded his head. With them around criminals tended to not put up much of a fight sometimes. Plus there was also Shenice Vale AKA Shebang and Adam Evans AKA Rubberband Man who also helped to keep crime down too. So with a small city with four super heroes and no super villains it had become a pretty safe town. Then Gear's backpack started to beep and both teens hoped for some action.

"What is it?" Static asked.

Gear read the read out on the HUD on his visor since Backpack was linked to the police band. "Yes! We got us a good old fashioned bank robbery bro."

"Finally something to do at this rate I was going to have to do my homework." He smirked as the two races to the scene. They flew there in time to see a shootout happening, the robbers had come out but apparently their car was blocked off by the police. Three police cruisers were keeping them pinned down so the robbers decided to try and shoot the cops. There were five of them, four had gone in while the fifth stayed in a large black van, they wore masks but carried different weapons. They ranged from hand guns to sub machine guns to assault riffles.

Gears saw this and for a moment hesitated, he hated guns mainly because he had been shot once and it scared him. The thing was that was back when he was normal, some poor kid who had been bullied to the point of trying to kill said bully but the kid's aim had been pretty bad and Richie got shot instead. He had been lucky too, it hadn't been too bad but ever since then he hated guns.

Static saw his best friend and he knew what was going through his head, "You okay man?"

Gear shook off the fear, people needed help and he wouldn't let his fears get the better of him. "Always man let's do it."

They flew down to the ground as Gear threw out a blast cap that exploded out and ensnared one of the men in metallic tentacles, Static shot out two electrical beams as he nailed two more charging them full of static energy that when they hit the wall of the bank they actually stuck there. That left two more left one of them bolted as Static was making sure the ones on the walls couldn't use their weapons and Gear went after the other one.

He saw the man pull up a gun at him and he dove to the side, when he heard the shot go off it rattled his nerves a bit, the sound of a gunshot was something he never would get used to especially if it was from a gun aimed at him. He rolled as he moved and threw out a small device, it made an ultra high pitch sound for only a few feet but it was close enough to make the man cry out in pain as he grabbed his ears. Gear kicked the weapon away like it was poison and used another cap to entangle him. He looked around for anyone else and just caught the sight of the last one running away.

"Damn one is getting away!" Gear shouted out seeing the man flee into an alley.

"I got him," Static said as he flew after the criminal he brought up his disk at an angle as he took the turn, he didn't want to get shot if the man was waiting for him to come around the corner. But as he did he was greeted with a strange sight. There was the robber alright but he was stuck in what looked like a giant web. He had his mouth webbed up and his weapon was a few feet away stuck to the wall. "What in the world happened here?"

"Come into my parlour said the Spider to the fly." Came a voice and Static looked around and then up and saw sitting on the wall above him was someone he had met months ago. Sitting there giving him a friendly wave was none other then Spider-Man. "Sorry I couldn't resist, you have no idea how long I've been waiting to use that line, I mean literally years but it just never came up until now."

**Next Up Chapter 13: **


	13. Shadow Threat

**The Cadmus Web **

**Chapter 13: Shadow Threat**

After the cops were taking away the robbers Spider-Man was with the two younger heroes. They were sitting on a building overlooking things as they talked. Gears was the first to ask him how he was doing and if there was some major League action that they were being called in for. When he had to burst the bubble of that both looked a little disappointed, he guessed he couldn't blame them they weren't even full members yet.

"So why the visit? You just taking a tour of the city or on vacation or something cause I tell ya there are better places to vacation than here." Static said with a smirk.

"Actually I'm here for you two." Peter said smiling behind his mask at the confused looks. "See with things being quiet all over Superman sent me here to basically evaluate you two. I'm supposed to see if you two are ready for more active roles in the League."

Peter's smiled broadened as he saw the looks on their faces, they both looked like they were being asked to frontline for the NBA although this was way cooler. But then Gears was the first to realize the little catch to it all.

"Wait a minute you telling us that you're going to be testing us or something?" Static asked the slightly older hero.

Peter actually had no idea what to do, he figured he would just follow them around for a bit, get to know them some and see how they handled things when they got nasty. The bank robbery showed a bit of that already but it never hurt to see a bit more, although if things were slow around here he might have to come up with something of his own. Although he had no idea how this was to be 'officially' done he showed only confidence after all if you don't got it, fake it.

"Yep you got it but how about we talk about this some place a bit more casual. Hear you guys got some kind of base set up at some old gas station?" Spider-Man asked them.

"Yeah, hey who told you that?" Static questioned him he didn't like it when people knew things that they shouldn't.

"Don't worry Supes told me." Peter waved it off.

"Ah big man trusts you huh?" Gears said to him.

Peter nodded, "Yeah he kind of helped me out in a...dark time of mine as did the other core members. I owe them a lot...Plus I am dating his cousin so if he didn't I would have been in a world of hurt by now."

"Dude I told you it wasn't a stunt." Gears said to his best friend. "I saw that picture of you and Supergirl, damn man she's hot. Although I do like blondes not exactly my favourite but still, nice one." He gave him a thumbs up and Peter blushed a bit behind his mask as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah trust me she's, well she means a lot to me."Peter told them as he got to the edge. "Well then shall we?"

He smirked seeing the boys already jumping off the rooftop and going off. He gave a small laugh as he caught up to them. They traveled along the way and eventually they came to some run down and beat up gas station. It really didn't look like much, in fact it looked like no one even used the place.

But when he got inside it was a bit more different, sure there was some dirk, junk in the corners, but it was kind of maintained. There was a lot of improvised furniture but also some more high tech gear laying around. There was a work bench with tools and other things, a computer, a police scanner and a few other things that impressed Peter.

"I know it's not the Watchtower or the Batcave but it works for us." Static said.

Peter actually was impressed, hell back when he started out all he had was a dusty basement area for his work. This was actually pretty cool and he had wished he had a place like this years ago, then he noticed how Gears made a face at the mention of the Batcave. "What's with him?"

"He's just sulking cause I know Batman's real name and been to the Batcave several times." Static said.

"I'm not sulking and it's totally unfair, I'd kill to see the Batcave as much as you, I was only there once but it's got to be the coolest place ever."

"Well..." Peter thought about it for a moment.

Gears' jaw dropped, "Are you kidding me? You too!? Am I the only one that isn't in on things? Did I miss a superhero get together or something in the mail?"

"Take it easy, trust me there are usual extenuating circumstances to when he tells people who he is. Hell most of the League doesn't know his identity or even mine so don't feel too bad about it." Peter tried to reassure the younger hero.

He looked around again and noticed something on a board, he walked over to it and read various newspaper clippings, and a map with red thumbtacks put into it. "What's this?"

"Oh that's something we've been working on," Static said and pointed to one article that read 'Monster in the Subways?' on it.

"See ever since that cure was released into the air without telling anyone I might add." Static and Gear both still had issues with that since they both nearly lost their powers. Anyway besides Gear and me and another we're the only Bang Babies left."

"At least at first." Gears said and then sat down on a chair. "See this is the thing, there have been sightings of something either moving underground or at night. At first we thought that maybe the Night Breed were still around."

"The what?" Peter asked.

Static answered him, "Well see there was this group of Bang Babies that were sensitive to light, so they had to either stay underground or come out only at night. But I talked to Gale, who is a girl we meet from that group. Turns out they're all normal again which is what they want, they're all back with their families again living a happy normal life. Hell a lot of the Bang Babies are happier now, one girl who used to be our enemy under the name of Talon is one person I can think of like that."

"Anyways since the cure in the air either made it way down there, or they got it when they got to the surface for food and supplies they all lost their powers. So we figured that maybe there could be one more of even a small group that had been isolated from the others. Or just a Bang Baby that managed to be safe from the cure."

"And you guys have been tracking it trying to figure out where it's based." Peter surmised after looking at the map. There seemed to be centered around one area of the city. This could actually prove useful, with something like this he could really get to see how these two were under pressure and in a fight with someone with powers if it turned ugly.

"Well how about some help?" He turned to the two boys.

"Are you kidding that'd be awesome." Gears smiled.

"I think we could use some help in searching around the place." Static agreed, not like he wanted to say no thanks after all this guy was evaluating them. Not exactly the smartest move around to do that to him.

Before they could get anywhere else there was a thumb behind them and Peter turned to see an African American girl the boy's age in red spandex with a purple cape and some kind of homemade mask coving the top part of her head. "Man I didn't find any trace of whatever attacked those workers on the East Side."

This was She-Bang one of the four heroes that protected this city, unlike the other two she was the produce of a secret experiment to create a type of super soldier. Well her 'parents' the couple that made her actually loved her and took her away from it all. She loved her parents even though she was created in a lab but she loved her life here. She had friends and had no secrets with Virgil and Richie they all knew about each other. She had even had dinner over with Virgil's home with her family, Richie and his once. It was one of the first times she truly felt like a real teenager.

She was about to pull off her mask, all that sweat was making it a bit sticky to her skin with both Gears and Static jumped her holding her hands in place. "What the-what are you two doing!? Have you two lost your minds?"

"We got a guest girl," Richie said pointing to Spider-Man who waved at the young girl.

"Oh," She felt her cheeks blush in embarrassment, then her eyes widened at who it was. "Whoa are you one of the League members? The guy from New York, Spider-Man?"

"Yeah guess you heard of me then." Peter rubbed the back of his neck he was still getting used to reactions like this.

"Are you kidding? You're awesome I've seen a few of your fights and I'm a huge fan of Wonder Girl and Supergirl. Are you two really dating? I mean what are they like? You think you could get me an autograph of them? They're like my idols!" She gushed which was a surprise to both Static and Gears, they never seen her like this before.

"Damn girl who knew you were such a fan." Static smirked.

"Hey those two show that female heroes are just as good as the guys. Plus they're young female heroes like myself, I mean who else do girls like me have to look up to? Sure there are plenty of cool female heroes but not many my own age." She explained.

Peter's smile was hidden behind his mask, "Well then you're lucky that yes I am dating her and I'm good friends with Wonder Girl. I'll see what I can do once I get back."

"Really? Cool!" she yelled out in excitement and then she looked at him as something dawned on her. "Oh...I never did ask why you are here."

**-Across Town- **

In a Cadmus safe house Galatea was looking over the place. It looked like a regular apartment but this was kept by Cadmus for operations. Ever since the Bang Baby event happened they usually had at least one team keeping watch over things. But with most of the Ban Babies gone it wasn't in use much. The tall blonde went over to a wall and opened up a painting, there was an electrical numerical lock there and she punched in the code.

Suddenly a section of the wall opened up and inside was a work area. There was a main computer terminal put into the wall as she walked over and sat down. She typed in her access code and started her search. She linked up with the Cadmus web and downloaded all information to her terminal. Then she went over the information, after an hour of scanning she hadn't found much. There were just reports of an unidentified creature seen, she could access the police files and what wasn't told to the public she now had access too. Apparently there was more to this then what the public was led to believe.

There was evidence that whatever this was had burned through solid walls, some metal, others rock and motor and also from a few reports disappeared into darkness. Reports from a few eye witnesses said that the monster was dark as night but also seem to also be on fire with burning eyes and hair. Galatea wasn't sure what this was but she figured that the equipment she had could be useful. She had been given a few devices used to capture and or incapacitate meta humans.

But personally she wanted to see what this thing was and how much of a pummelling it could take. She figured beating it unconscious and then having the Cadmus extraction team waiting just outside of down was also a nice plan.

She stretched out, it felt good to be out of that damn bucker complex. She looked outside and it was still daylight she could step out into the streets but given her costume, she would have to wear a coat for that. Plus she couldn't fly and hope not to be seen. She'd have to wait a bit longer until the sun was setting, then she'd go out and when it got night and dark she would take off quickly and go looking.

So since that was a few hours away the alien clone threw herself onto the couch and enjoyed the time off, she rarely got time to relax, it was something she bet Kara did all the time. It was also another reason she resented the girl she got to live the good live, to be normal and not feel like she was a freak or something. She pushed those thoughts away, she wanted to enjoy her time and she got to watch the nice TV that was in front of her, she wondered if they got all the good channels?

She was flipping through it but her thought returned to Kaine, it was odd she had only talked with him but he seemed like a very intelligent and insightful person. He was getting more used to his life but she guessed it was just that he had someone to talk to who would understand his life and his pain. She knew the kind of pain that a clone experienced, where you weren't sure if you were a real person or not. She didn't tell anyone but Kaine how sometimes at night she would wonder about that, if she was real.

He had been understanding of her and told her that he felt the same way. It was so nice having someone to just talk to about this. She knew there was another clone team being made and Kaine was supposed to be on it but honestly she hoped she would be put on this one as well. She wanted to be around more of her type of people so she didn't feel so alone in the world. She signed as she watched a show playing on the TV she wasn't sure what it was really. So far it seemed to be a romance or something, the man and woman were talking and soon were getting very close, they embraced and started to kiss.

Galatea frowned a bit as a feeling of longing was brought up inside of her, she never kissed or been kissed or even loved like that. She wasn't sure if she would ever get the chance, she knew that Kara had tried to date while in Smallville a few times but nothing serious but at least the girl had damn dates. While she had nothing, she felt herself longing for that kind of intimate contact to feel what that woman on the TV must have been feeling, or trying to act feeling. She turned the TV off feeling frustrated and alone.

How she hated being denied a real life, to be able to experience things like that she wasn't even two years old and here she was a full grown woman in her prime and not once had anything close to what she had seen. "It's just not fair." She muttered to herself waiting for the stupid sun to fall so she could concentrate on her work.

**-Elsewhere- **

Dick Grayson AKA Nightwing was about to knock on a door when he knocked on it. He wasn't in Gotham at the moment, he felt he needed some time off and Batgirl had strangely been absent recently hell she said she actually had a date with someone but didn't say who. It was none of his business although he was wondering just who it was but shrugged it off. It looked like she was starting to move on and maybe he should to. For weeks now he had been meeting with Starfire, sometimes it was just good to see her and another to comfort her. He saw the pain in those green eyes, they used to be filled with so much love for life but he had seen the pain in them now.

He knew that she lost whatever innocence she had from her youth but she still had that love for life. He figured it was one of the things that made him fall in love with her. That was another thing, sometimes when they got close he felt those old feelings that he thought were long dead rise up again. The familiar smell of her hair when they hugged or her soft and yet warm skin when he shook her hand. It didn't help that she grew up well over the years, hell most women would kill for a body like that and that certainly didn't help.

Hell their last night together had been his first time with another woman, and now after all this time he felt a part of him wanting to rekindle that night. But he pushed that aside, they were friends now and nothing more at least that's what he kept telling himself.

When the door opened said alien opened the door and was wearing cut off jeans and a small shirt that was showing off too much skin for his comfort.

'It's official either there is someone up there messing with me or the universe has a sick sense of humor.' He thought trying not to stare at her body but damn it that was hard. Didn't help that he hadn't had been with a women in months either hell it was close to a year now and seeing her like this was not helping his self control.

"Dick what are you doing here?" She asked smiling that smile that seemed to brighten a room.

"Just thought I'd visit, I heard you moved here and wanted to see that you got settled in."

She smiled thankful for his thoughtfulness, "Thank you Dick, please come in."

They made their way in and Dick looked around, it was a nice place for a decent size. Although it looked like she was still trying to make it looked more lived in. But he saw the few touches that were her, flower of various types decorated the place, he knew that she loved plants especially flowers. He made a mental note to get one for her as a house warming gift next time he saw her.

They sat down on the couch as they started to fall back into their comfort zone with each other. They would talk about the little things, how life was going, anything interesting going on and so on. He asked how things were going in the league and she asked him how he was doing patrolling Gotham. After a bit Dick managed to totally relax, it was easy with her she had this aura about her that made you feel relaxed.

They got to remembering old times after a bit, laughing at how they used to be as kids. The pranks that Beast Boy pulled, a few of the more embarrassing moments like Control Freak or being turned into animals. He was suddenly aware of just how close they were together now, very close in fact.

She then looked at him for a long moment and he did the same, the silence wasn't an uncomfortable one it was more like they were trying to figure something out. Like there was something there but each of them weren't sure about it. Starfire leaned in a bit closer to Dick, she had missed this, these moments with him. When he showed up she felt truly happy again and when he left she missed him.

She thought back to that night with the other women and how they had said maybe it was worth it. She leaned in closer to him and Dick could smell her hair, it was the same smell from all those years ago and a smell he had in dreams of her. He looked into those perfect green eyes of hers and felt like he could fall into them.

"Dick, I've wondered about something..." She trailed off.

"Yeah?" he was feeling the heat in his body rise up, being this close to her was bringing back all sorts of long thought dead feelings.

"I know you can't change the past but you can change the present. And well there is something that I miss too much from my past that I want back in my life."

"What's that?"

She seemed to pause as if gathering herself for something, "You."

"But you already got me I'm here aren't I?"

She smiled at him as her face moved closer. "Not like that." And then it happened she was kissing him. Dick was taken by surprise but he kissed her back out of reflex. He missed those soft lips and he lost himself in the kiss, he ran a hand through her hair and the taste in his mouth brought back memories of his youth. God how he missed this, he ached for this to get back what he had lost. For once something that was taken from him was back in his life.

He broke the kiss looking at her, "Kori...I'm not..."

She placed a finger on his lips, "Dick I never...I never forgot you or stopped...stopped loving you. I still love you, you've captured my heart when I was so young and you've always had it. Please I need you more than ever now."

"Kori..." He spoke softly caressing her cheek with his hand. The thing was he was afraid of being hurt again but he also ached for her too. When he looked into those eyes though he just wanted to hold her and not let her go again.

"You were my first love, and I was devastated when you had to leave, I don't blame you for it I know you did what you had to do. And I've missed you too." He told her.

She smiled as she held herself close to him nuzzling his chest, "Please tell me that we can start again."

He stroked her hair thinking about it, all kinds of thoughts were going through his head. But feeling her now against him, how she was holding him, how she needed him. He couldn't turn her down, there was a hole in his life and at this moment he started to feel that hole fill slightly. Yes he could get hurt again but then he remembered Peter, he had lost so much and the love of his life and yet he found love again. So why not him as well?

"Kori...I think I'd like to start over again." He told her gently and she had never been happier since she returned to Earth.

**Next up chapter 14: Fire and Shadow **


	14. Fire and Shadow

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 14: Fire and Shadow**

Deep in the tunnels that ran under the city something moved along the darkness. It came to an old hole in the wall, it had once been one of the openings for the home of the Nightbreed but since they were no longer around the place had fallen to homeless people or at least it had. They still talked about the night 'It' came to what they called The Den. It had been a horrible sight, something right out of a monster movie and acted just the same.

It scattered those rejected from society like it thought them nothing more than bugs. It attacked with fire and darkness, it showed no mercy, it was like a demon from hell had been let loose upon them. They scattered and no one ever went back. But they still talked about it, and no one ever went close to that area again. They would warn the new ones to the street to stay away from there, but some wouldn't listen. Those that did were rarely seen again, and if they were seen they were scared to death and never talked about what happened.

Now in the Den the monster that was given the name 'Fire and Shadow' after the creature in the Lord of the Rings book, was making plans. The Den was large and well lived in, the perfect place for him to make his plans. For months he had been laying low as he got used to his new form and mind, for it hadn't always been as it was but that was another life time ago and now he was reborn into something new. But there was still the old hatred in his heart, the burning yet cold rage that tormented him day after day. The need for revenge and he had a name for what plagued him, and it was Static.

He hated Static with such intensity that he was sure went beyond anger, beyond rage, it was like it had become his nature to hate Static and he was going to see to it that hero paid in both blood and pain.

But while the creature in the darkness plotted up over the streets four young heroes were heading towards its location. Spider-Man, was swinging between the buildings as usual as he was impressed the other girl called Shebang was keeping up with just jumping over the rooftops. Although he wasn't going as fast as he could, it wasn't easy to keep up with him or the two other boys who were flying. He made a mental note to talk about her at some point as well when he made his report.

He shook his head, it still sounded weird to him when he thought about that. Him making 'a report' like he was giving the results of a business meeting or something. When he became a hero this wasn't even close to what he thought it would be like. But it was also nice to be given this responsibility it made him feel a bit more like he was contributing.

Okay sure he helped with the maintenance and on missions but this was his first real solo job.

They finally landed in an area of the city, it looked fairly normal if a bit on the run down side. "Wow not much to write home about." He said looking around. "But hey I've seen worse in New York, plus at least it's not Jersey."

"Is Jersey really that bad?" Shebang asked him. "I keep hearing all these jokes about it but I've never been there."

"I have." Gears sighed, "Dad took us on a trip once to New York and went through there. Car broke down and we had to spend a couple of days there. Not fun and it was boring, there is nothing there and there are some really strange people."

"Yeah like what?" She asked him.

"I don't know I was kind of young all I remember is some fat guy in a trench coat that never talked and his skinny friend who kept talking but I couldn't understand a thing he said. Plus he kept on using swear words and I kind of picked up a few nasty ones." Gears rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh I remember that," Static snapped his fingers. "You came back and were grounded for a week for saying something at school."

"Really what?" Shebang asked and Gears told her. Her eyes widened at that and Peter had to admit, living in New York and he never heard a phrased used quite like that before.

"Anyways," Peter said shaking his head. "So this is the areas that the last few sittings were found huh?"

"Yeah pretty much, mainly it's been seen in dark places or at night." Gears told him. "It's the reason we think it might be a Nightbreed that didn't change since that's how they lived. But it had to be one that the others didn't know about, like maybe it was a loner or something."

Peter looked around the area, there was still some light and he wondered what they would do now. "So are we waiting for dark or are we going down into tunnels? Just tell me it's not the sewers we'll be checking, man I hate sewers." Peter didn't know why but sometimes he always ended up in them.

He hated it when he had to go into those tunnels, they smelt horrible, cleaning himself and his uniform was a pain in the ass, and then you get things that he would step in or worse cling to his costume that even thinking about them made him shudder in repulsion or nearly gag.

"God I hope not." Shebang muttered to herself she felt the same way about sewers.

"Naw, Gears found the old subway plans for the city." Static told them.

For awhile now Gear had been looking up the older plans for the city and comparing them with the current ones. It took some time since there was a lot of data, but he eventually found a few things that didn't show up on the current maps. In fact he also asked a few of the old Nightbreed about what they could remember and had been compiling anything that would help them in their search.

"I think there are a few places we could look into, the Nightbreed had several areas that they lived in." Gears explained as he called up the info on his visor. "We searched a few so far but there are a few more we can look into, but after that it gets tougher. Some areas had suffered damage over the years so some areas might be closed off or hard to get to."

"Well lead on McDuff." Peter said and noticed the blank looks. "What?" They went on to one of the old subway entrances leaving him behind. "No one appreciates the classics anymore I swear." He muttered under his breath.

**-Galatea-**

Galatea was finally able to get out of the safe house and took to the skies. She was in her usual white uniform as she looked over the city, she flew to the area that had the most sightings. She closed her eyes for a moment feeling the night air flow over her, this was one of the few pleasures she got out of her life. Flying was always amazing and she loved to fly outside and the night air felt great as it touched her face.

She could lose herself sometimes like this, she could just forget everything and just fly. She sighed as she pulled herself back to reality and the mission. She had a job to do and couldn't take time out to enjoy this, although she wanted to just have a moment to herself.

"Get real Tea, just find this thing and you can maybe take an hour to yourself and enjoy the night before you have to go back." She told herself as she got to the area.

"Now then...Where are you?" She asked out loud as she looked around with her x-ray vision. She looked at the buildings, seeing a few things that she wished she hadn't seen. Some ugly guy that was overweight flexing in a mirror, a few people in the bathroom, and something else that she had to close her eyes.

"God I sometimes hate that power," She said fighting off a gag. 'Okay so he's not in the buildings even though I had to check.'

She looked around the alleyways and noticed something happening, by the looks of it a pair of young teens were being chased by some gang. For a moment Galatea considered leaving them but something inside of her stopped herself from that. She looked at the scene the two were outnumbered and were in trouble. She frowned at this, she had a mission to do but then again wasn't the point of Cadmus to protect people?

What was the point of that if she just stood by and did nothing? Besides it wouldn't take long and she could get back to work after it. With her mind made up she flew quickly over to the alley seeing the two young boys running from a group of slightly older ones with red clothing, obviously their gang colors.

"Run man, run!" One of the boys said to the other one.

"What do you think I'm trying to do!" He yelled back as they heard the voiced of the gang members behind them. "Told you we should have gone the other way, but you just had to go this way, you knew this was Red Blade territory!"

"Just shut up and run!" He yelled back but they ran the wrong way as they headed right into a dead end. The boys who were breathing hard, their lungs burning turned in time to see the five gang members that had been chasing them.

"Come on guys just let us through, we got nothing again you or your crew." One of them said.

"Too bad you made us run then," One of them said stepping forward as he flicked open a butterfly knife. "Cause now we're tired and pissed."

"Heh, let's show'em why we're the Red Blades then, and give every other sucker that walks into our turf knows who is running this show." One of the gang members said.

"Pathetic." Came a woman's voice.

The Gang members heard it behind them and the one at the back as soon as he turned was met with a fist. It hit him so hard not only was he knocked back several feet but blood gushed out of his nose. He hit the ground in pain as he clutched his face, his nose was broken badly and he was moaning in pain as it bleed out.

They now saw a tall very beautiful woman with blue eyes, short blond hair and in a white leotard with a circular hole showing off her cleavage.

"The hell is this? Super Hoe?" One of them said.

That wasn't the best thing for him to say as Galatea got a pissed off look on her face. Within the blink of an eye she was right in front of that Gang member and punched him in the chest. She felt ribs break as he picked forward in a cry of pain. She gripped his neck and pulled him up to her face.

"Care to repeat that?" She said dangerously. She heard a bang and felt something brush against her skin, it took her a second to know that she had been shot. She looked over annoyed at the two others there with gapping mouths and one of them holding a smoking gun.

"I'll deal with you two in a second." She told them coldly.

She looked at the man in her grip noticing that he was turning blue from lack of air. She could just snap the next and be done with it, hell she had killed before after all. It would be so easy, she could feel his neck, the air pipe in the throat. Crushing that would leave him with no way to get air, or just snap his spine, rip the head off or just burn him with her heat vision.

She gripped a bit more tightly and just a bit more and the air pipe would break but she stopped. She felt strange about this, she felt that something wasn't...right about it. She didn't know why she thought that, maybe it was just because it was just some street scum. Maybe that was the reason, he was beneath her, not important enough to kill.

Whatever the reason she threw him into the wall, she heard a bone break from the impact but the man was unconscious from it anyway. She turned to the other two members she noticed one of them was running away, she labelled him the smart one of the group.

Two more shots hit her chest but they just bounced off her harmlessly. She took the gun from them and crushed it. Then she gripped the two men who were cursing her with every word in the English language, she didn't mind that but it was annoying. So she slammed them together a few times and slammed them into the brick wall. The air went out of them, she let them go as they fell hard onto the street groaning in pain.

"Damn girl where the hell did you come from?" One of the boys said looking at the damage she did.

"Hey are you that Supergirl chick?" The other asked earning him a glare from Galatea with her eyes glowing red from holding back her heat vision.

"Don't ever call me that again or what I'll do to you will make you wish you where these punks!" She nearly snarled at them.

"Easy girlfriend! I get it, no saying super babe thing." He said holding his hands up a bit afraid that this blonde woman was going to kick his ass in a serious and very harmful way.

Galatea gave them one last hard look before taking off into the sky leaving the two of them looking as she left them.

"Dude what the hell was that about?" His friend asked once she was well out of sight.

"Don't know man, maybe Supergirl stole her boyfriend or something. You know those hero types must shack up all the time."

"Hell yeah with the babes on that team who wouldn't?" He grinned as they walked out of the alley. "Hell I bet Superman has had half the girls already. Although personally I'd love to do that Wonder Woman, man what I wouldn't give to tap that ass."

"I hear ya, but let's get the hell out of here before more of these guys get here." They agreed to that and ran as fast as they could out of Red Blade territory.

Galatea watched from her spot in the air watching the two young boys run off. She didn't know why but she felt a bit better helping them out. It felt...nice. But she put that away as she went back to work, she decided to try and use her x-ray vision under the ground, maybe she could find out where whatever this was hiding in the day light.

**-Underground tunnels-**

The tunnels of Dakota were old, some of them dated back over a hundred years or more. Some had been decommissioned for safety reasons, some were just no longer needed and new ones were made. So there was a literal small maze under the city. The place was dark and Gears had lights that he gave to Shebang and Peter, while Static just made a small electrical light himself.

The tunnels had that dusty and the air was a bit heavy and smelt of aging cement. The four heroes were walking through the tunnel that had been and old subway, the metal tracks were still there although they had seen better days. They found this through a hole in the wall of the current tunnel, it had been opened up months ago by the Nightbreed and no one had bothered to fix it up.

Which was good for them since it made it easier getting into the older tunnels.

"Man I'm glad I don't got asthma," Gears coughed from some dust. "This place would kill me."

"I've been in worse although just be thankful the ceiling looks like it will hold up." Peter said pointing above them.

"Yeah last thing we need is for tons of rock to fall on our heads." Static grinned.

"So then any idea how far we from one of the Nightbreed homes?" Shebang asked looking around.

Personally she didn't much care for this place, being underground like this was bringing back all kinds of memories that she didn't like. Being a lab rat and put behind cages and all that left her hating being in places that left her feeling restraint or trapped. She couldn't wait to get out of the tunnels but she didn't want to show how uncomfortable she was in front of the others.

What they didn't know was that the sounds of their approach not only made echoing sounds around them but carried on down the tunnel. The sounds traveled until something moving in the darkness stopped. It listened to someone coming at first he thought it was just more homeless people, so he went to get rid of them. This was his territory and no one else's, but as he got closer he could hear the sounds a bit more clearly. They were distorted but after they got closer he suddenly realized he knew one of them, and he could never forget that voice either. It was the voice of the bane of his existence.

It was Static, he was here in the tunnels. A part of him was eager for a fight wanting to rush out and slaughter him but the more reasonable side of him thought that a trap was more appropriate. He saw a hole that opened up in the ceiling, part of it had withered away from a water leak at one point years ago by the looks of it.

He formed himself into the small hole as the glow around him dimmed. He couldn't keep the light down for long, it was like holding your breath he could only do it for so long. He also wanted to have built up his crew again but he had been having trouble with that. At any rate Static was walking to his own death at the moment and he would finally get his revenge.

The others were nearing the hideout not aware of the danger, Peter was thinking on what to do if they found whoever this was. There was a cure so if whoever was hiding from the world could easily be turned normal again, but then there was the other side what if they didn't want to be cured? He was in the middle of telling himself to stay positive when his spider sense flared up.

"Everyone out of the way!" He yelled and jumped the others didn't know of his warning sense and froze for a second before a large dark shape came from the ceiling. For a moment Peter got a sense of déjà vu, remembering Venom. The dark liquid grew tentacles and slammed into the other three heroes, then it seemed to get very bright as it lit on fire.

The creature was all black with red like veins, burning eyes in a mouth with thin sharp teeth, the mouth itself looked to open up into an inferno, plus there were bits of fire on it, a long fire trail seemed to make an almost 'living' hair style.

"Oh crap we landed in a Lord of the Rings movie," Peter said looking at the thing, "Where's Gandalf when you need him?"

"Hey man what's your problem other than a serious case of the ugly." Static said firing an electrical attack at him, the creature just made a hole in its body letting the attack fly through him harmlessly.

"I ain't fallin' for that again fool." He spoke almost like there were two voices overlapping one dark and the other kind of cocky.

"Dude is it me of does that thing sounds kind of familiar?" Gears said readying a zap cap.

"Who cares let's just kick its butt and we can ask it later." Shebang dodged a black and red fire ball as it was launched at her.

Static saw that move and something was clicking in his head. "Do I know you or something?"

"You got that right geek," He said to him looking at him. "But I guess you wouldn't know me from the new look 'Hero'."

It was how he said the word 'hero' that made Static and Gears eyes opened up wide.

"No way!" Gears said looking at it all. "Ebon?!"

"Not just Ebon fool." He said launching another fire tentacle at him as he dodged. Peter managed to snag him out of the way.

"Hot streak." Static said out loud. "It can't be, I mean what the hell happened?"

"Not sure but I'm no longer Ebon or Hot Streak, on that day at the ship something happened to us. We merged into one being. So you can call me Shadowfire." The merged villain said to them all.

**Next up Chapter 15: Party Crasher**


	15. Party Crasher

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 15: Party Crasher**

There were a few things going through Peter's mind at the moment, one was that this guy who called himself Shadowfire seemed to be fused in some way from two of Static's old enemies. It brought back a lot of memories of Eddie and Venom, a lot of bad memories that is. It didn't help that this guy looked a bit like him as well, only more like on fire.

Other things running through his head was keeping ahead of the black tentacles that were sometimes also on fire if that wasn't bad enough, sometimes the fire leapt at him as well. He was thinking of how to take this guy down as well, they were in an enclosed area, nowhere to hide, no cover and nothing to trap him. The only good thing was that they had plenty of light, the bad news with that was that the light was from all the fire.

So all in all Peter came to one conclusion, they were in deep trouble.

He looked to see Static was working hard on trying to use his powers but they only seemed to sting or really pissed off the guy. Gears looked to be scanning him trying to think of something to think up, and Peter would be glad for some ideas, he had no way of knowing what the strengths and weaknesses of either of who the two villains before they were merged. What kind of strengths and weaknesses they had now was anyone's guess.

'Well might as well get some info on this guy,' Peter thought as he moved towards Static. He jumped into the air, twisting around and when he landed did a back flip to land near the teen hero.

"Okay so then any ideas?" He asked jumping onto a wall.

"Like what?" Static dodge in the air, pushing back Shadowfire's attacked with his electrical powers.

"Well what how did you beet this guy when he was just two people?"

"Well Ebon had a thing against light, and Hotstreak well usually kicking his butt or throwing him into water worked well."

"I don't know about the light thing, after all he's kind of on fire at the moment," Gears stated trying to find something that would work.

Gears threw in a few zap caps but so far nothing much was working, he was slowing him down some but not much. In fact he was sure that he was just pissing him off some but he had to find something to do, his new visor had on a scanner and he was trying to get some readings. What he got was confusing to say the least, he was getting a lot of strange data and to make it worse it wasn't like he could just focus on this while fighting at the same time. He was smart but multitasking like this wasn't easy.

Just then the ceiling caved in from what sounded and felt like an explosion, dust was thrown all over the tunnel and after a bit of coughing the young heroes looked to see someone else had joined them. A blonde woman in a white one piece leotard with boots and gloves, although the others didn't know this new comer Peter was in shock. The woman looked like Kara only older!

He was sure of it, he knew that face better than his own, the same color of eyes, hair, everything was the same only he could see that this woman was older by at least a few years, and the hair was also different. He was stunned as he knew who this was, although everyone had thought she had died.

"Galatea..." Peter whispered out knowing the whole story from Kara herself.

Tea looked at Spider-Man hearing what he said, "So looks like someone knows about me, that's a pity."

That was Kara's voice only a bit more colder, more hard but it was still the same voice. Peter was no stranger to clones, he had met his own clones although besides the female version of him Jessica, they were all dead. Seeing this clone of his girlfriend was kind of hard to take, hell he could relate to how Kara felt about her experience in ways no one else could.

"Looks like you didn't die when Kara kicked your ass," He said to her.

Tea's look darkened at that, "I'll settle things with her later but now I have a mission to accomplish."

She looked at Shadowfire and didn't think much of him, if this was what Cadmus wanted then she would give it to them. He fired out a few fireballs but they she just punched each one, they exploded but she was otherwise unharmed. She picked up a piece of large debris and threw it as the monster, he was hit and was slammed into a wall but she noticed how he was ozzing out from under it.

"Uh...whose side is she on?" Shebang asked not sure at this point.

"Her own," Peter said to her. On the one hand he wanted to jump in but if she had all of Kara's powers it wouldn't be easy hell he knew the kind of damage that Supergirl could do but this woman had already killed, she wouldn't hold back like Kara would and that really worried him.

"Well then I say we take them all one," Static powered up only to be stopped by Peter.

"Don't! She's a clone of Supergirl and isn't as nice. You go in there without a plan and you'll get your head kicked in." Peter said seriously to him.

"A clone of Supergirl!?" Gears mind was racing at that, "Oh man this is bad."

"Yeah and it's not like I have access to kryptonite either...but I do have access to magic," He realized.

"What you gonna pull a rabbit out of your mask?" Static asked as Tea and Shadowfire continued to fight.

"Not me personally," Spider-Man said a bit annoyed, "Magic is the only other thing that Kryptonians can't handle and there are a few in the League."

Peter then placed his hand to his ear where the communications device was, "Spider-Man calling Watchtower, they J'onn you reading me?" There was nothing but static on the line and Peter cursed, "Damn it all this stuff over our heads must be getting in the way I can't get a signal out."

"So now what?" Shebang asked as another thunderous hit shook the place as dirt fell from the ceiling, "At the rate they're going this whole place is going to come down on our heads."

Peter signed, "It's never easy."

Shadowfire was not having a good day, first he was about to finally smash Static and his little friends when some blonde with attitude literally drops in and is kicking his ass. He wasn't sure what pissed him off more, the fact he was interrupted or that he was getting his butt handed to him by some woman. He was trying everything and nothing seemed to work, all she did was shrug things off or get right back up and then hit him twice as hard in return. He was seriously thinking that he needed some more room to more about, maybe hitting the surface would offer him more places to fight from?

"You know I'm getting tired of this," Tea said as she hit him with her heat vision, he cried out in pain but whatever wounds he had were healed over in seconds.

She had to admit this creature was hard to keep down, he already took hits that would make anyone else crumble but then again his body wasn't exactly solid either. She needed to find a way to deal with this so she only had one option left, she took in a giant breath and then used the super breath. This was something she was sure that even Kara hadn't managed to do, just another way to show that she was more stronger than the other blonde.

Shadowfire felt the ice around him, he didn't like the cold the part of him that was from Hotstreak hated water and cold, and he felt the fires start to dim as well. It was actually painful, he was surprised at that, he never knew that if the fire was put out it would actually hurt him. Thankfully it didn't last for long as his body got harder and harder to move as the ice started to encase him, and in the span of a few seconds she had frozen him into a block of ice.

Tea smirked as she looked at her handy work, this would make things much more easier. Then she turned her attention to the others, they got ready to fight by the looks of it and she was more than happy to do just that. But she had a mission and the ice might not hold him forever, in fact if she left him alone for too long he might start his fire powers up again and she would need to refreeze him again.

"Okay so that's one down how about we take the other one down as well?" Static asked the others.

Shebang looked ready and Gears was getting his equipment ready but Peter had other problems. In his training with the League, Batman always taught him to fight smart especially when up against someone who was more powerful than you were. That caused a lot of problems here since he knew what he was up against but had no way of calling in for help and nothing to use. Hell he had spared a few times with Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman and the only reason he got out without a body cast was because they held back.

"So now what Galatea? You going to take Mr. Popsicle and take off or want to dance a bit?" Spider-Man asked getting himself ready. She would be really fast and he might not get enough warning with his spider sense but he got ready anyway. He figured maybe blinding her for a moment while Static fired a full blast might, and he was stressing the might part, daze her enough.

Galatea looked at them for a moment considering, "I'll have to take a rain check I have my mission first. But tell Kara something for me will you? Tell her that I'm back and I'll pay her back for that last time."

With that she fired her heat vision at the ceiling, the other teen heroes got out of there. Peter jumped snagging Shebang with a webline as Gears and Static flew out at stop speed. As the dust settled, Static made a few more lights with his powers and they looked to see a large wall made from the cave in.

"Can we still catch her?" Shebang asked.

"Doubtful she can most likely fly at supersonic speeds, by the time we get up there she'll be long gone." Spider-Man sighed, it could have been worse but it could have gone better as well.

Later after searching the area and seeing the hole that Galatea made from the street level they didn't find any trace of the clone. Peter called up the Watchtower to report in about this but there wasn't a lot anyone could do, she was most likely long gone by now. They met up back at the gas station as the young heroes were sitting around looking a bit dejected.

"So I guess we screwed up huh?" Gears signed taking off Backpack and setting it down in front of him.

"Well not totally," Spider-Man said to him as he was sitting on one of the walls.

"Not totally? We let them get away man," Static said.

"Well nothing could have been done, trust me I've had my faire share of screw ups and this is nowhere near one of them," Peter said hoping that they wouldn't ask for anything in particular. "Besides I'm not sure that without the proper backup we could have done anything against her. She's kind of above our weight class."

"Still sucks," Shebang said as she was sitting down on a chair holding her head up with her hands.

"Yeah still sucks," Peter nodded.

"So this mean we pass or fail?" Static asked him.

"Don't worry, you guys did good. I mean you fought great, had nice teamwork and despite how things went to hell fast you guys didn't lose it. So don't worry when I tell them what I thought you guys get an A," He joked.

They seemed pleased by that, and Peter did decide to mention Shebang as well, she definitely had some moves and could be helpful one day later on. She was a bit more rougher around the edges then the other two but nothing as bad as he had been during his first year as Spider-Man that was for sure. But there was one thing that he wasn't looking forward to doing and that was telling Kara about Galatea, he knew that it wouldn't be pleasant but she needed to know.

**-New York-**

Kara had a pretty good day, classes weren't that bad and a few of the girls at work had asked her out for a coffee, it was kind of nice how she could be just plain old Kara Kent and not Kara-El AKA Supergirl sometimes. Sure she loved who she was but sometimes just being a 'normal' young woman was a nice change of pace. She had taken off her fake glasses and got her hair out of the ponytail that she used glad that she didn't use that brown wig anymore, the thing itched.

She was in single jeans and a short t-shirt that showed off her stomach and wondered when Peter would get home. She missed him the past day and couldn't wait for him to get back home, it was odd how she thought the place as home now. But it was, she lived here and she was in a real relationship with a guy that she loved. It was strange how in the past year she had grown up it seemed.

She sat on the couch just channel surfing wondering if she would see if Barbara or Donna were free tonight if Peter wasn't back. Although lately Barbara seemed to be a little busy of her own, and Kara had to wonder if it was related to Speedy. She originally had sent him there to hopefully get Dick jealous but it looked like her plan had backfired. Not only was Starfire smiling a lot lately which was a clue but she noticed Barbara was a bit happier lately too, although not as much as the alien red head. Add to the fact that Barbara had insisted that she and Dick were just friends and she hadn't seen him in four days anyway.

Kara had wanted her best friend to be happy, turns out she was happy with someone else.

"Oh well still a win I guess," She muttered and shrugged to herself. She signed wondering if Donna might be free instead of Barbara, although she knew that the younger Amazon might also be interested in a certain tall boy. She giggled at the thought of the young warrior woman and Long Shadow, they did make a cute couple. Ideas of maybe trying to set them up were being thrown around in her mind as well, but those thoughts were shut down hearing the front door open up. She looked to see Peter come in with a suit case, she jumped up and flew to him surprising him.

"Hey there!" She smiled and hugged him tightly.

"Whoa what did I do to get this welcome?" He grinned.

"Just missed ya was all, so how was the trip?" She asked eagerly and then she noticed the slight serious look on his face. Her own face fell a bit knowing something wrong had to happen. "What is it?"

Peter sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "You might want to sit down for this."

Peter sat her down and went on to explain his mission with the League, meeting Static and the others, how they were chasing down some 'phantom monster' that turned out to be two of Static's enemies fused into one being. Then he got to the really hard part, he got to Galatea showing up. During that part of the story he noticed the shock and then the anger in her eyes. She was very still but he could see her tense up a lot at this. When he got to the part where she got away that was when Kara shot up and started to go to the stairs.

"Kara what are you doings?" Peter asked.

"Changing!" She snapped at him, "She's out there and I intend to find her!"

Peter jumped over her and landed in front of the stairs, "Kara she's long gone."

"I don't care I'll find her!"

"How?"

"I search the entire planet if I have to city by city, now get out of my way," she said coldly to him.

"Hell no," he said to her not backing down.

She looked at him very dangerously now, "Get out of my way or I'll make you get out of my way."

For a split second Peter was sure she would do it too, she could easily get past him but he wouldn't make her go out there, not like this. So he stayed his ground hoping that Kara wasn't going to do something that both of them would regret later on.

"No."

"Peter..." she growled out.

"Kara you're not going out, you're not in the right mindset and even if you did find her, which are long odd then what? Fight her again, I remember how beat up you were the last time and you had others there for you. I'm not saying you can't beat her but I don't want you looking for trouble when you're head isn't in the game."

"You don't understand!" she yelled at him, "You don't know what it's like for someone to have your face going around doing things like she does, you don't know what it's like to be violated like that, to have pieces of you stolen."

Then she stopped noticing the very cold look in Peter's eyes, she had never seen him like this before.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he asked her and her eyes widened at that, "Did you forget what I told you about Doc Ock did to me?"

Then it came crashing back to her and she felt like crap after what she had said to him. She suddenly did remember it all, after the whole thing with Doctor Octopus Peter had told her about the clones he made of him, how he had experimented with all those clones.

"I don't understand? I'm most likely the only one who understands you!" He said angrily back to her, "Damn it Kara you're not the only one that has gone through some crap in their life and I was trying to help. But at least you only had one clone, I have no idea how many that asshole made of me. One of them kidnapped a girl a loved and turned her into a monster, another pretended to be my father! You have any idea what that's like? For a moment I thought I had my dad back, that I had gotten back someone that I loved but it was all a lie, and then they did it to Gwen!"

"God do you know how that still tares me up inside knowing they cloned a girl that was like a sister to me? So don't tell me I don't understand!" he turned to go up the stairs and Kara felt very stupid at the moment. She knew how much that whole cloning thing hurt him, it hurt him more deeply than you'd think and she had basically thrown it in his face.

God she felt stupid, "Peter..." She said softly.

He stopped for a moment still feeling angry, "Go if you want but I'm going out, I need some air." He said planning on doing some web swinging for some time to cool off. Kara thought about going after him but she had to find Galatea, she had to stop that clone. She went to her own room and pulled open her closet and then pulled out the hidden panel with her uniforms. She stopped wondering if this was a good idea to just leave like this.

'Maybe it's best for both of us to take a breather, we both need to calm down. But I really need to take care of her if I can find her,' She thought as she changed.

Peter was changing in his own room still wondering if he shouldn't have blown up like that, but damn it she knew about how he felt about that clone thing. The only good thing that came out of that whole experience was Jessica the female cone of himself. He hadn't seen her in a long time, he tried to get in touch with her when he went back to his world to visit but hadn't found her. He left a message with Kitty and Johnny hoping one of them would be contacted.

But still he knew that Kara didn't mean it, at least not totally. He looked to see a blue and red streak fly by at super speed and he signed. He wished that she hadn't gone off like that, now he would just worry about her. He pulled on his mask and went out into the night hoping to find something to take his frustrations out on, and he hoped that he and Kara would be better in the morning.

**Next Up Chapter 16: Teammates **


	16. Teammates

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 16: Teammates **

Peter Parker had a strange life, here he was on a space station overlooking the earth, not his earth but one he literally fell into, here he was respected, liked, hell even a little famous not that he cared about that. He had some good friends and after all the hell he had gone through you'd think he would be happy. Well he wasn't in fact there was only one word that he could use to describe his life at the moment and that was miserable.

And it wasn't even his fault, he had that stupid argument with Kara and then right after that she goes off trying to pick a fight with her clone. She never found her, hell it had been a week and she still went out there. He barely saw her and when he did there was this awkward silence and the two of them just of just went through the motions.

He hated it when he got into fights with his girlfriends, sure he only had two in his life before Kara but they always sucked. He was here at the Watchtower hoping to take his mind off things, he always came here when things were really depressing for him like when he first came to this world.

What he didn't know was that two people were watching him from across the room, they were Wally "The Flash" West and Shayera Hal formally Hawkgirl. Both looked on at Peter and they had to admit they hadn't seen him like this in a very long time.

"Man this sucks, I mean he gets over his depression and then goes right back into it," Flash sighs leaning up against a wall. "Think we should go over and try and cheer him up?"

Shayera wanted to, hell Peter was a good friend and in a way almost like a little brother to her. When her status in the League was in question he helped her and she had tried to help him through his rough times. She respected him with all that he had gone through in his young life and still went on, and she didn't like seeing him in pain. For Wally he just wanted his friend to be happy, Peter was one of the few people that openly smiled and laughed with him then at him. Plus Wally liked Peter, he was serious when he needed to be but also knew to have fun with life like he did.

Both hated to see him like this and both of them wanted to try something, unfortunately for Shayera she wasn't too good at the whole social thing. How she managed to even get into romantic relationships she didn't understand, she just seemed to fall into them. Now she had to deal with a young man that was hurting and the truth was she was totally lost. When he first showed up she had just been there at times but other than that she hadn't a clue what to do.

Flash however tried everything to cheer Peter up that dark time in his life. And before she knew it, Flash was walking towards Peter and she quickly started to walk to catch up to him.

Peter heard the sounds of feet and look a look and saw it who it was, he wasn't sure if he was happy or not that they were coming over. One part just wanted to be left alone and the other wanted someone to talk to. They stood on either side of her, Shayera leaning forward and Flash leaning his back on the railing.

"So Pete, how are things?"

Shayera smacked a hand to her face, 'Idiot.'

Peter had to smirk, Flash was many things but tactful was never one of them. "You want me to be honest or lie?"

"Well they say honesty is the best policy, except when it comes to when a woman asks you if she looks fat in something, then you lie to save your life." Peter smiled a bit more as Shayera was giving him a look that said that she would kill him later for that one.

"We're just worried is all," she said stepping in.

"Yeah and trust me it's nice knowing that I got friends who are looking out for me...it's just that...this really sucks..." he sighed.

"Tell me about it," Flash said losing a bit of his humor.

"How would you know?" She asked him, "I don't even remember seeing you with a steady girlfriend."

"Before I joined I was in a pretty long relationship," Flash supplied which was surprising for her. Peter on the other hand knew all about this girl naked Jinx. But Flash went on, "Trust me these rough spots suck but you can get over it. Hell the only reason things with me and Jinx ended was we both just grew apart and wanted different things in life."

"I wanted to stay in the hero game and she wanted to try her hand at a normal life."

Shayera blinked she never seen this serious side to Wally, it was kind of strange to see this side of him. She shook her head, John always told her that there was more to Wally then meets the eye and just now she was starting to think maybe there was a bit more depth to her friend.

Peter nodded, "Yeah I know all that, this isn't my first fight. Although it's one of the worst ones I've had, and for once it's not my fault but how can I make this better? I mean if I go an apologise then it makes what she's doing the right thing and what she said was okay, which by the way was totally out of line and this thing she's going is nuts."

Flash nodded, "Yeah even Big Blue is getting worried but what can you do with a girl that is faster than a bullet and can tear a tank apart?"

"Yeah thanks for that one," Peter said sarcastically.

"Look at any rate Kara will come to her senses," Shayera told him placing a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe she just needs to get this out of her system for a bit, but you're right _she's_ the one that needs to apologise here. But how would you feel in her place?"

Peter thought about it for a moment, "Pissed off mainly."

"So you can understand where she's coming from," She said to him, "And just be a bit more paitent with her."

"But if you need to we could always stage an intervention with her," Wally supplied with a smile, "We can get Donna and Wonder Woman to hold her down and tie her up with those lassoes of theirs..." He trailed off for a moment and then snapped back , "Sorry my mind wandered there for a bit."

Peter punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What the hell man!?" Flash said rubbing his arm.

"Thinking perverted thoughts about my girl, that's my job," He smiled at Flash and he blinked and then smiled back.

"My bad, buddy but yeah if you need help in knocking some sense into that girl know you got some backup for it."

"He may have a point there, if things get too bad we all will try our hand," she said to Peter, "She's our friend too and if she's hurting herself with this whole thing then we should help her to see what she's doing is not only messing with her life but those around her as well."

Peter nodded his thanks to them, it was nice to know that there were others willing to be helpful. He looked at the Earth, never tiring of the site of that planet there in space. "Thanks guys but I'll wait for a bit. I'll give her a little more time but if we have to we'll kidnap her and place her in one of the holding cells here until she's willing to listen."

Flash clapped a hand to Peter's back, "well then how about we get out of here and try and have some fun. Hey you want to see if we can switch Vigilante's and Shining Knight's weapons with a those sucker dark guns toys and a foam sword?"

"God you two are like a pair of kids sometimes," Shayera shook her head at this knowing where this would lead.

"You're only saying that cause you got no sense of humor Red," Flash grinned.

"What!? I do so have one!"

"Only just barely more than John's," Peter stated.

"Yeah I bet between the two of you, you could have about half a normal person's sense of humor," Flash added.

Peter snickered and felt his spider-sense flair up and he looked to see the murder in her eyes. He turned to Wally, "Flash time to do what you do so well."

"Score with chicks?" Flash grinned.

"No...RUN!" Peter jumped away and Flash only took a second to run off before the mace that was in mid strike landed where he had been.

"Get back here you two, I'll show you who has a sense of humor!" Shayera yelled out chasing the two.

**-Gotham-**

Kara was in her costume crashing at Barbara's, sitting on the couch as she was polishing off the last of the ice cream but she wasn't feeling any better. She was a bit filled but still felt like total crap, she missed Peter and their relationship. Sure they were still together but this big space between them was killing her inside. She missed the smiles, the laughter. She still felt horrible about what she had said to him, and she was still freaked out that Galatea was still out there, she hated the fact someone was running around in her face doing all kinds of things she wouldn't do.

But at night when she finally got back to bed, she hated how alone she felt. She just wanted to crawl in with Peter and just let him hold her, she always felt better after that and she missed that warmth and comfort.

"So you going to talk or am I going to have to go out and buy more?" Barbara Gordon asked sitting in a chair across from her best friend.

"Sorry," Kara said putting it away, she sighed on the couch pulling her legs to her chest. "I just don't know what to do."

"How about saying that you're sorry for starters?"

"Might be beyond that at this point," she said dejectedly, she really felt like she royally screwed up and in a major way. She shouldn't have said those things to him, because he actually did understand how she was feeling at this point hell he had gone through the same thing if not worse.

Barbara got up and sat down next to her, "Look the simple fact is you said something really dumb and now you just got to go and fix it. First step is to just talk with him, get him alone. Hell just grab him and fly off somewhere remote where he has to face you if you have to."

That got a twitch of a smile on Kara's lips, "Maybe but I can't just let Galatea go around free either I have to stop her."

"Kara how long have you been looking for her? A week?" She saw the blonde nod, "well then I don't think you'll find her at least not until she wants to be found."

'But-"

"No buts, this is already screwing up your life, both professional and personal." Barbara sighed and rested a hand on her friend's shoulder getting the younger girl to look at her.

"Trust me you don't want to spend your life obsessed, if you only focus on that you'll never see what's around you and you'll just end up losing something precious to you."

Kara had an idea where she was going with this, "Batman?"

Barbara winced a bit, she hadn't thought of it like that, "Yeah. I mean look at him, he nearly destroyed his relationship with Dick who is practically his son, and he keeps me and Robin at arms length a lot too. Plus you've seen how he is do you honestly want to end up like that? Sure he does great things but look at what it costs him? I just don't want to see you or anyone else go down that road."

Kara looked away thinking about it, she really hadn't thought about her obsession with Galatea like that. But looking back on it, she saw how she had been pushing her friends away, pushing Peter away, even skipping a few classes and called in 'sick' for work a couple of times. She was slowly destroying her life and how long would she do this until she had to start letting things go? Dropped out of school? Gave up her job and civilian identity? Giving up Peter?

She honestly felt a bit sick to her stomach from those thoughts, she worked hard to get where she was today and to just throw it all away...

"God I'm such an idiot," she muttered hanging her head.

Barbara smiled, "Hey we all makes mistakes just got to learn from them is all. Now then why don't you go and fix things with Peter?"

"Trying to get rid of me?" She smirked at the red head.

"Hey I just want you happy again."

Kara stood up and felt a bit better, although she wouldn't be all better until she talked with Peter. It might not be easy but she had to fix this. She just needed to think on how to apologise for this, but the flight back might give her time to think if she didn't break the sound barrier on the way back. She looked over her shoulder before flying out the window.

"Babs...thanks."

She smiled at her, "hey what are friends for?"

Barbara watched as her friend took to the air and hoped that things were going to be okay. She looked at the clock and swore as she ran to her room. She quickly stripped off her clothing and put on her Batgirl costume.

'Damn it I'm late! He's not going to be happy about this but it's not like I could turn Kara away, get on you stupid boot! Why the hell are these things always hard to get on when I'm in a rush?' Barbara finally managed to get her suit on and doubled checked her equipment, the last thing she needed was to forget something that she might really need later on because she was in a rush.

She quickly slid out the bedroom window that had a fire escape into an alley, it was the reason she set up her bedroom in that room, easy access to get in and out without people on the street seeing her. Not everyone could afford a nice large underground cave or a personal flat with no one around like a couple of people she could name. Batgirl quickly made her way across the city and was breathing hard by the time she landed on the clock tower that she liked.

He looked around and didn't see anyone, she signed and sat down on the edge, "Crap now I bet he thinks I stood him up."

Suddenly an arrow hit the spot beside her, she jumped and saw that it held some type of tube. It suddenly popped open and tied to the arrow was of all things a rose. She smirked as she picked it up and looking up where it had come from. "Glad to see that you waited."

Speedy leapt down from his perch and smiled at her, "Hey I was about to go, another five minutes and I've have to find another pretty girl to give that too."

Batgirl smiled at him, "Sorry a friend stopped by and I had to help her out."

"Ah okay, well as long as you make it up to me I think I can let it go," he gave her that cocky smile of his and she got up and walked over to him.

"Don't worry I think I can think of a way to make sure your patience is rewarded." She winked at him.

**-Cadmus Facility-**

He was alone in the dark again, he didn't mind. They turned the lights down at 'night' so at least he could get some sleep. But sleep wasn't easy for him, he kept having those damn nightmares, and the worst part was they weren't even his. Memories of battles, of loved ones killed, of pain, of anger all of it haunted him and he just wanted it to stop. He was sick of all of this, he didn't want these memories or this pain.

He felt like there was a hole in his chest, a big one at that. It felt empty and hallow but at the same time from the darkness there was something in there.

Pain.

A throbbing pain that seemed to pulse with his heat beat. He felt like it was driving him insane, he tried to ignore it, to put his mind on other things. He would do complex math in his mind or try and remember better times. The only thing that ever made the pain go away was when she came to him. He found that when she was gone that he missed her, he liked having someone to talk to who could understand his pain. God when the hell was she getting back?

It had been a lot longer break between visits then normal and he felt like he was going to lose it again. But in his solitude there was also something else, time to think. He knew what he was, and he knew that there was no life outside of this place for him. He had no identity, no past, he was a non-person in every sense of the word. Where would he go? What would he do?

He honestly thought about what he should be doing with his life. And the thing was, with his talks with her he felt that maybe this Cadmus place did serve a purpose. So it was kind of like SHIELD in a way, maybe not as upfront or as 'nice' at times but after all they were a legal organization. Hell even Fury did some nasty things, he still remembered how he had basically 'kidnapped' Hank McCoy and forced him to work for him all that time, making the X-Men think he was dead.

'Don't think any of them ever forgave him or Xavier for that. But they accepted Xavier back but I doubt the X-Men ever trust Fury again and I can't blame them for that,' he thought to himself.

So they created him to be used as what? A weapon? He got the feeling if they wanted more weapons they would just clone more of her. So maybe what she told him was the truth, they made him to be part of a team. A group that would protect the world from all threats even heroes that turned renegade. He heard the story on how Superman had been brain washed and unleashed an alien army on the world.

He remembered things like how that group of super people from other countries invaded America, or when Black Widow turned out to be a traitor, not to mention Hank Pym. Then you get guys like the Hulk and all the stuff they do. It just seemed that to him, people with powers at some point could crack and when they do, bad things happened.

He lay there in the dark thinking about this new team he was supposed to be on. And the thing was, the more he thought about it, the more he felt like maybe he should do this. He had literally nothing else in his life, and he may be a copy, a fake but damn it he still felt things. Like the need to protect, but he also needed to be his own person to be someone OTHER than Parker.

Kaine sat up in his bed and thought long and hard. It wasn't an easy choice for him but he wanted out of this cell and to do something, anything. And if they were on the level with this team then maybe he could find a place where he actually belonged for once. Peter found a place to belong so why shouldn't he have the same thing?

'Then I guess that's it then...Next time I see her I'm telling her that I'm in,' Kaine thought to himself. And so he waited, he waited for the one bright point in his light to come back to him and hopefully take him out of this cell and towards his future.

**Next up Chapter 17: Welcome to the Fold**


	17. Welcome to the Fold

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 17: Welcome to the Fold**

In one of the research rooms, many scientists were looking over the form of Shadowfire, he was locked up in a large see through cell where he was being studied and held for the safety of others. It was obvious that the man if you could call him that, was a danger to society. Although he had stopped thrashing against the walls he looked like he was just waiting for a single chance to strike when it happened. So far he didn't seem to need to eat or sleep, which effects on the human mind couldn't be good as was obvious by his criminal life.

But they were also trying to find out what made him work, since he was merged from two people although what they found was that the person in that cell could never go back to being two separate people. He was stuck like that, whatever had reawakened the powers of the two young criminals had merged them beyond any point of reversing the process. They were also hoping to study the whole Bang Baby process as they managed to get the few files that weren't deleted on the gas from the company that made it, through covert means of course.

But now that they had a case to study they would see if the gas could be controlled in effect giving Cadmus the ability to one day making a whole army of super powered people under their command. But the research showed that to be a few years away, but for Amanda Waller it was a good start. Already she watched at the scientists were scanning their new 'guest' and had to admit that Galatea's mission went off well. It was a setback that she was seen by a member of the League by her own report but that was a small price.

The secret would have gotten out sooner or later so it was a loss she was willing to take, she knew she couldn't have everything. And there seemed to be another good piece of news, the clone in the holding room seemed to be coming around and actually wanted to see what Cadmus had to offer. It had taken a long time for that clone to decide on joining and she had been running out of patience. She was about to order him terminated and try again with one without memories. But this was working out well, Galatea was already showing the clone around and she wasn't ignorant of the fact that the two seemed to be bonding.

Hell she was counting on that, if the clone calling himself Kaine was becoming emotionally attached then it would make it easier for him to control. There was one problem however and that was Octavius, she knew that the clone had a hatred for the man not that she could blame him. But she would have to make it clear to the clone to not attack him. She would have to make sure that the two men were separate as far as she could for as long as she could. It would make the cleaning up less of a mess since the Doctor no longer had his arms. But all in all it was turning out to be a good enough day.

She walked through the halls to see on another person and that was Jim Harper, the man was getting used to his new clone enhanced body and was exercising and training constantly. He was making excellent progress and would make a good field leader for the team she was making. This time the team would be perfect, no more unstable clones, no false memories, no this time they would go around it another way. They would raise and train the team themselves and not let them go off into the limelight like the Ultimen had. That might have been one of the problems with that team, they loved the hero status too much.

Amanda walked into one of the resident wings and walked up to Jim's door. She pushed the call button and the door opened to reveal the tall blonde man there.

"Ah Director what do I owe the visit for?" Jim asked her as she walked inside.

"Just checking up on you, and I may tell you that a new member of your team might be ready soon."

Jim smiled at that, he knew that he was going to lead some type of super hero team at least that's what Cadmus told him and he was looking forward to it. All his life he wanted to protect people and his home and he had. He had gone become a cop and did his best for his city, even he admitted that he went around the law at times to get the guilty party. Even when he retired he still helped out when he could, and here he was with a new lease on life and a future that he hadn't seen coming.

His new body looked just like his old one before the years took its toll, but even in his prime he had never been this strong or this fast. He felt like he could do anything and he trained to get to know the limits of this new body. He didn't have any family and any friends were either in the ground or too old to remember who he was. So he had no one to miss anymore, no one to miss him so he could just 'disappear' one day.

"So can I meet the new recruits yet?" Jim asked her.

Amanda seemed to think about it and nodded her head, "I think you should, come with me Mr. Harper."

It was more of a command in her voice than an offer but he didn't mind, he was used to people barking orders at him from his police days so he followed her through the hallways. Although he had to admit the facility wasn't much to look at, it was all the same bleak metal walls. He wouldn't mind a base that was above ground just so that he could get a window. He figured to bring that up with her at a later point, a good place to work helped with the overall minds of those that worked there.

It wasn't until he came to a more secure area of the living section that they came to a large room that looked like some type of break room. He saw only two people inside of the place and there wasn't much else there were couple of couches, chairs, a TV, a couple of vending machines, and nothing much else.

The two young people were a blonde woman in some kind of white leotard showing a bit more skin than he was comfortable with. He never understood how things changed in his day a woman wouldn't be caught dead in that in public but that was a lifetime ago. The other was a man roughly her age, in a dark jumpsuit and long hair. That was another thing he never understood, why some men would let their hair grow out that long.

But he had a lifetime to adjust to changes, he smiled as he went up to the two of them. "Hello, I'm Jim Harper. I'm told that you two will be on the team that I'll be leading."

"So you're the guy they got," Galatea looked him up and down trying to gage him. "Okay I'm not impressed so far."

"Galatea," Amada said coldly to the clone, "you will show him respect and do as he says. Do I make myself clear."

"Crystal," the female clone said crossing her arms and looking at the other woman with a look that said she would but wouldn't like it.

"I see I'll have to earn your respect, well not the first time I had to do that and I doubt the last." Jim made a mental note to try and get through that tough exterior of hers. From what he could tell she looked like the type that could be trouble, maybe a loose canon and so he would have to watch her and train her to be more level headed.

He looked to the other boy and he wasn't sure how to read him, a lifetime as a cop made him able to read a lot of people but this young man was kind of hard to pin down. He looked like a poster boy with his looks but the eyes said something else. They spoke volumes to him and none of it good, definitely someone with a lot of weight on his shoulders he concluded.

"And you are?"

"Kaine."

"That's it? Just Kaine and Galatea for the young lady?" he asked a little confused on their lack of full names. "And is Kaine a first or last name?"

Kaine just shrugged, "One or the other I haven't decided yet which. Besides single names are coming back, like Madonna, Cher, Prince or Logan."

He smirked as his own little joke there as Jim looked confused as he wasn't up to date on music. Hell he stopped listening to all the new music somewhere in the seventies, while Galatea just looked a bit confused on the last name. She heard of the others but no one that was just named 'Logan' as far as she knew. But she just shrugged it off as just another thing she didn't know from her lack of exposure to pop culture.

"Well anyways you can call me Jim, I was never liked to get too official and if I'm going to lead this team then we might as well start on the right foot."

Kaine had to smirk, the guy came off as being a bit old fashioned with the way he talked. There was a hint of a way of talking that he hadn't seen in old movies (Well that Parker saw he just had the memories of those movies), and there was something else. It took him a moment as Jim went on talking to them when it clicked. He reminded him of Captain America.

It wasn't everything that reminded him of that man just a few things, the way he talked was a bit old fashioned so that was a clue, he didn't use any slang terms, and the flow was a bit stiff. Kind of like how Captain America talked, like that whole 'young lady' bit. Only his-no Parker's Aunt May said that.

It was kind of odd, the guy really did seem to want to get to know them and he was trying to get them to warm up to him. But for people like him and Tea it wasn't easy, it was hard to trust when you were created to be just nothing more than a tool. But the guy was trying...So maybe he would give him a little benefit of the doubt at least for now.

Amanda Waller had seen enough, she had been studying them the entire time and although she knew it wouldn't be easy to get this team working together, at least she didn't see any major problems. Galatea was used to working solo so that would need to be addressed. Kaine she was still a bit unsure of, she would watch him and at the first sign of any kind of betrayal she would terminate the clone before he was a danger.

She walked out leaving them to 'bond' or at least try to, she would check up on the other clones. By the end of the week most of the clones were going to be ready and then when they were she would start their training. Soon they would have a team that would go toe to toe with the League, Earth would finally have its defence if those people ever went rogue, not to mention from other threats as well.

**-New York-**

Peter was not having a good day, first was the fact that he had another stupid paper to do because he failed to finished the assigned work. It wasn't his fault that there was a string of robberies and he was trying to find out who it was. Kara and him were still having troubles so he couldn't ask her for help, Donna was busy with something in Jersey of all places, and Diana was at a Diplomatic function, something about a country going into Amazon waters to fish which naturally upset the Amazons.

Vixen although who had a home in New York was doing a runway show in Paris, and so as the only hero around it was up to Peter to figure out who was doing this and stop them. The only thing he could find was a lot of ice and water (most likely melted ice) and that limited who it could be.

So here he was going through the city trying to figure on which place that this person would strike next. So far he was looking for any high class jewellery stores since that seemed to be the pattern. And all in the high class neighbourhoods too, the same area wasn't hit twice so that lowered the number of places he had to search.

One of the new things he also had was a link to the NYPD police dispatch and silent alarms thanks to the League and thanks to Batman as well. Hell with all the stuff he had it sure made things a bit easier on him that was for sure. Although he was pretty sure one of three places would be hit next, he just hoped that he close enough to get to the one being robbing in time. Plus it took his mind off things and how his life was going through a 'it really sucks' period.

"The more things change the more they stay the same," he sighed as he landed on a rooftop taking a break. "Why is it that whenever things go well for me something just has to come along and screw with me? I mean what did I do, step on a bug that was pleased by the gods? It's not like I peek at women in the showers while I'm sitting on a building...okay there have been a couple of times but those were accidents! Why did they have to leave the windows uncovered like that anyway, anyone with a pair of binoculars could have seen them."

"And you know what really sucks...I'm talking to myself one of the sure fire ways to know that I'm going insane...well at least I'm not holding a two way conversation then I really would be ready for the white room and the straightjacket."

"_Attention all units, we have a silent alarm at 23 and 3__rd__."_

"Well at least the voices I hear are from the device in my ear and not in my head," Peter jumped off as the name of the place was one of the stores that he figured was on the lists. He was five blocks away but for someone like him that was nothing. He arrived to see the door broken open with the edges frozen to the point that they just broke off.

"Just my luck, an evil Iceman bet Bobby would be pissed," Peter muttered as he looked inside. He saw someone breaking open the glass displays and was shoving all the pretty things into the bag. He jumped in and fired two web lines, one to snag the bag and the other to snag the person robbing the place.

"You know store hours are from eight to five," He smirked under his mask.

"Oh great just what I needed," the female voice said turning around and Peter got a good look at who it was. Turns out it was a woman, which meant that he owed Flash ten bucks since it wasn't Captain Cold. She was really pale, and had kind of a goth look to her with her short blue hair and he noticed that if looks could kill, she would love to kill him...and his neighbour, the mailman, the milkman (if those even exists anymore) and pretty much anyone that she met.

"Huh didn't we meet before? Let me guess...Uh...sorry I'm bad with names. Miss Freeze? No wait...Icewoman, or is it something unique like Noel?"

Killer Frost wasn't amused as froze the webs binding her and with a flex they shattered. "It's Killer Frost and you Bug Boy are going to learn not to mess with someone like me, and you are not taking me in like last time."

She shot out a 'beam' if you will that he dodged and was glad, the place where he had been was now solid ice and Peter didn't want anything like that to hit him. And yet again with the bug thing, he was seriously thinking of putting up flyers or doing a special on TV about how spiders and bugs weren't the same thing, honestly how many times did he have to say it?

"What's a matter Bug Boy, not tough without your girlfriend here to help you?" Killer Frost smirked while blasting more cold at him, even she knew that this guy was dating Supergirl although she didn't see why, the guy was kind of annoying.

"Damn that's cold, and I mean that literally too," Spider-Man knew that he had to find a way to end this fight and soon. The place was getting colder and there was getting less and less room to manoeuvre as more ice filled up the place.

"Hey Frosty the snow queen, I think you want this."

He threw the bag at her hoping that she would try and snag it since it was what she came for. She did try and grab for it with one hand but fell just short of getting it and that's when he struck. He jumped off the wall and kicked her in the side sending her into one of the display cases. She looked back angrily at him as she tried to throw a kick and a few punches but he was too quick and agile.

'To hell with this,' she thought as she gave a wide area blast and in such a close quarters space even Spider-Man wasn't fast enough to dodge it completely. He found his arms and chest encased in ice, he cried out in surprise at the cold. The biting sensation of extreme cold was almost painful at first from the sudden shock to his body to the change in temperature.

Killer Frost smiled knowing that just a bit more ice and she would have killed this man and she was going to enjoy it too. That is until the sirens and red lights were heard of police cars. She bit out a curse, the fight had been drawn out to get the cops involved and there was one thing she didn't need was cops. Normally they weren't a problem however cops had a tendency to shoot and she wasn't bulletproof. She would have to take care of them first since for all she knew they had tear gas or something else like that, which they could throw in.

"Just chill, I'll finish you off in a second," She told him going to the door.

"I hate cold puns!" Peter said through chattering teeth. This was bad, he knew that the cops wouldn't stand up to someone like that, he could already hear the battle starting outside. He could already tell this girl was nuts more so than other villains.

"Great I complain about the villains here and I finally found one that is actually a bad ass," he muttered. He tried to break the ice but it wasn't easy his arms and chest were going numb and it was getting hard to breath. Every breath felt like ice was being stabbed into his lungs. "Come on, come on and break this!"

He tried it with everything and finally heard the ice starting to crack, with one more push it broke and he landed on the ground coughing. He just wanted to stay still a moment to let his body readjust but he knew that he couldn't. He forced himself up and made his way to the door and found one police car was frozen in mid tip, two officers were frozen solid with another with his legs frozen as he grabbed them in vain.

"Hey Ice Queen we're not done yet!"

Killer Frost looked annoyed at him as she was standing over the cop on the ground. She could hear more sirens coming and guessed one of the cops had called in for backup. This wasn't good, facing him she might be able to do but not him and the police.

"Well you got a choice, chase me or let those two freeze to death. If you bust them out and get them warm they might survive before it's too late, and this one might be able to keep his legs from getting frost bite. The choice is yours hero." With that Killer Frost made for an alleyway and Peter wanted to chase her but he looked at the cops. These were guys that although he had a rocky relationship in his world had been pretty good to him in this one.

"Damn it...I'll get you later," he swore as he started to break out the other two cops, it wasn't easy as he had to do it with his bare hands. The woman he got out first and laid her down as he broke the second one out, then he managed to get the other one's legs broken free.

His hands were shaking after all of that, they were completely numb and he was sure they were injured too but he couldn't open his hands all the way. "How are they doing?" Peter asked as an ambulance had pulled up while freeing the cop's legs.

The other two were being treated for the cold while the cop next to him was rubbing his legs through a blanket.

"They said they might make it, won't know about any damage until they get them to the hospital," the cop looked at the hero there. He had heard of this guy, and he seemed like a decent enough guy. Hell he busted all that ice off of them and might have saved not only two of his fellow officers but his own legs too. He could see that the guy's hands were messed up because of it.

"What about you Spider-Man?"

"I've had worse," Peter sighed as he was handed a heating pack by a paramedic. "You ever have one of those nights?"

The cop snorted at the stupid question, "What do you think?"

"Yeah figured as much," Peter said rubbing his hands into the hot packet trying to get the feeling back into his hands.

**Next up Chapter 18: Paybacks a...**


	18. Paybacks a

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 18: Paybacks a...**

When Peter finally got back he wasn't exactly in top form, hell he just wanted to take a long hot shower curl up in his bed sheets and sleep for a week. He walked into his room and pulled off the mask and started to strip off his uniform. He only got his shirt off when there was a knock on his door.

"Peter...can...can we talk?" he heard Kara's voice.

He sighed not sure if he was up to this but from the sound in her voice she didn't want to fight or anything. So he walked over to his door and opened it up, she was there in just normal clothing meaning jeans and a t-shirt. She looked like she had a lot on her mind and was a bit apprehensive to talk to him somewhat.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah why?" Peter said although he did feel a bit cold.

"You're lips are a bit blue and you look kind of pale," Kara's brow furrowed as she went to touch his forehead, Peter tried to move back but she managed a touch. "Peter you're freezing! What happened?"

He sighed, "Ran into that Killer Frost lunatic, she got away but at the moment I need a nice hot bath."

"Yeah go do that we can talk a bit later," Kara told him giving him a concerned look.

Peter did just that he stripped down and ran a nice long hot bath to soak in. He lay in the tub just enjoying the warmth of the water and his aching muscles. He wondered what Kara wanted, although he really hoped they could repair their relationship. He missed how things used to be and it was hard to live and work with her while they were having this difficulty. Peter stayed in the water until it started to get cool and finally forced himself out.

He dried off and dressed in some warmer clothing some sweatpants and a matching top with a shirt under it. He came into the living room finding that there was a mug of hot chocolate of all things waiting for him with Kara. Peter gave a small smile at the gesture as he sat down next to her and took a sip.

"Feeling better?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah thanks."

There was one of those awkward silences for a bit as Kara played with her nails a bit, a stupid nervous habit that she had. She took a cleansing breath before she started up, "Peter...I'm...I'm sorry. I know that I said something stupid but I just wasn't thinking and well...I've been too focused on this whole Galatea thing and it's effecting my life."

Kara sat back as Peter listened to her, "It's just that...I hate all of this, the fact that she's back and what it's doing to me. I thought I was over this but then she shows up again and...I keep remembering those horrible nightmares and I know those were of her killing people. I still remember how it felt, and it scares me because in a way she is me and the things she does...I don't like to think I'm capable of that kind of stuff..."

Peter moved closer and put an arm around her gently moving up against her, "Kara trust me I know all too well what it means to see your inner darkness if you will, it royally sucks. I mean you see things that you don't want to see. But you should know that even if she is you're clone, she's not you."

"I know you Kara and you're not that kind of person, you're the kind that stands up to that kind of stuff, you never back down and you always fight with your heart."

Kara smiled a bit, "that was really cheesy you know?"

"Yeah I know, think I've been watching too much anime shows lately," he smiled at her and she managed to smile back. She cuddled up against him laying her head on his chest as he held her, Peter smiled as his cheek was in her golden hair and he could smell her hair.

"I missed you," he told her gently.

"Missed you too...so am I forgiven?"

Peter gave a small chuckle, "Yeah. So I guess this marks the end of our first real fight."

"God are all fights this bad?" Kara frowned into his chest. She really didn't want their fights to be like this it was pure hell. Seeing him and not knowing what to say, not having him there for her, not having him there next to her some nights. It had been so very lonely like someone had ripped a part of her life away.

"Well..." Peter thought of his past few relationships, "I can't say for sure...some might be as bad, some might be worse but I hope that the majority aren't as bad as this one."

"Same here," she nodded to him. She just tried to bury herself deeper into his chest feeling the warmth there. She liked this with his arms around her and she slipped her arms around his waist just enjoying the moment. Then she got an idea into her head, they were back together so maybe she should try and make up for lost time?

Even thought she didn't want to she pulled back from him and held his face in her hands, she smiled at him lovingly and then captured his lips with hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she felt his hands wrap around her waist pulling her closer to him. They continued to kiss, gently at first but soon they were kissing harder and deeper, both of them getting lost in the moment of passion. Peter wasn't sure when or how but he ended up laying with his back on the couch and her on top of him as they continued to kiss.

Peter really had missed this, her soft lips, the taste of her mouth, her tongue wrestling with his. He wanted to get warm and he sure was getting warm now, he could feel her body pressing up against him and he went to attack her neck with kissed. He knew that she was sensitive there and he heard her moan in appreciation, he grinned as his hands roamed over her back, one of his hands going lower to give her ass a nice squeeze.

"You know what's better than making up on the couch?" she asked loving the way Peter made her feel.

"What?" He asked between kissing her neck.

"Make up sex."

Peter grinned as he liked that idea, besides it had been a long time for them and both needed this. They got up still kissing as their hands roamed over each other, the two of them made their way up to the second level where the bedrooms were. Kara pulled off his shirt and threw it aside smiling they continued on. They made their way to Kara's room and Peter kissed her as he pulled off her top and let it drop to the floor. They two landed on her bed as they continued on without missing a beat.

Much later that night Peter was on his back with the sheets over him and Kara sleeping on his chest with his arm around her. He just wanted to enjoy the moment as she slept there feeling a lot better than he had in a long time. He was glad they could patch things up, although now he had the problem of Killer Frost on the loose.

'Oh come on Peter, you're here in bed with her naked girlfriend and all you can think about is psycho chicks with ice powers?' he groaned knowing that he really needed to just not think about it. He pushed that aside and would think about it in the morning.

**-Much later that day-**

Peter had a busy day and it wasn't over yet, he was in the small room that when Bruce made for himself that had a small area for the usual superhero stuff. And of course Peter took advantage of it all, there wasn't much room but there was a place he set up photo equipment, a small lab (nothing fancy) and a small computer area. All in all it wasn't much compared to the Batcave or the Tower but to Peter this was a step up from the basement of his Aunt's place.

At the moment he was just using the computer that was linked up with the League system, it was something that all members of the League had since it helped with information gathering. Hell he had helped to set it up before the League even officially reopened back when he first came to this world. But at any rate he had downloaded all information on Killer Frost and he didn't like what he found. The woman was very dangerous to say the least.

So the question Peter had was how did you find one person in one of the largest cities in the world? Well after looking up her file he found that she ran very cold, and he guessed with her temper she would be using her powers making where ever she was cold too. So with a link up with the Tower he had scans taken of the city looking for cold spots. Unfortunately with so many freezers and meat lockers in the city as well as refrigerated trucks...that was a lot of cold spots.

"Ah crap...okay think Peter use that brain of yours," he cracked his knuckles and started to impute more parameters. He made the computer list different groupings, publicly owned areas, privately owned places, areas that were condemned or rented spaces. He also tried to impute anything that was moving since he doubted she would be standing still.

After hours of this and of eliminating places he rubbed his tired eyes, he had worked through supper and was still trying to figure out where she was. Kara had been called off to a mission and he had seen her off. He went to watch some TV while the program would run down all the possibilities it found. He was thinking of maybe he was going about this all wrong when something caught his eye.

There was a cold spot in the Manhattan area in one of the rougher areas, he checked and the building looked like it was a loft that wasn't in use, the city records had no listing for power but there was a large area that was cold. Plus when he tried to get a closer look through a JL satellite he found something odd. There was a small path of cold that was fading he also didn't see anything that could make something that cold.

"Well looks promising, unusual cold spots, out of the way area, secluded...Looks like some place a villain usually goes alright." Peter grinned as he pushed himself off making note of the location. He also looked over at the few surprises he had in store for Killer Frost, all that time waiting on the computer left a lot of free time. So he had been also preparing a few things, he didn't know if any of them would work since he never really had to fight many ice powered people before.

'People made from sand you've fought, from water, people with lightning even black living costume crap...but the only people that used ice just had to be an X-Man.' Peter sighed as he got his equipment ready. He also wore long underwear under his costume hoping it might help a bit.

"After this I'm asking for help making some costumes for different purposes. I need something thicker for cold, thinner for heat...wonder if I should get something like armour?" Peter thought about it and shook his head. That wouldn't be very good, he needed his agility and speed and that would just weigh him down. "Oh well future ideas to kick around."

After an hour of hitting the web line express Peter found the area and decided to take a look around first. The place seemed to be run down and the homeless moved in. That would complicate things and to make matters worse he needed someplace to battle her as well, something with room to move and places to dodge. He looked around the area around the place had an industrial buildings but he didn't think that would be good trashing some place that with his luck would be filled with chemicals, and that last thing he needed was more unknown chemicals in his body. But then there was something that looked possible, there was an open area between the buildings, an old basketball court that had the hopes removed long ago and no longer in use, a sickly looking tree and a few benches.

It looked like a decent enough place, and with his battlefield set he went off to see if he could find out where the ice queen was staying.

Meanwhile Killer Frost was over looking over all that things that she had stolen. She had been putting them into piles, those that she could fence easily but others that she would have to get in touch with the right people or get out of the city to fence them. It was annoying but it was better than being fingered by the cops, she was also pissed that the cops she froze seemed to have been survived. The news said the cops would make it and they were stable which just pissed her off.

She remembered how she got started, her mentor had been called Crystal Frost after having her powers in an accident. But then she had died and Killer Frost had used the same means that Crystal had gained her powers to carry on the legacy. Crystal had been the only person that understood her, she had never been 'normal' in many ways. She liked to hurt others and had found out when she started like to kill as well. Crystal must had seen that similar things in her and befriended her, when she had been killed the young woman Louise Lincoln was no more.

She did miss her only friend but she liked her life now and thanked her for showing her the way. She picked up a few jewels and started to short them out. The place had ice on some walls to keep the place cool, she didn't like the heat and this made the place more tolerable.

"Stupid freaking heroes always getting in the way," she muttered to herself.

"You know they say that talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."

Killer Frost didn't waste any time and quickly turned and fired her ice powers. Peter thankfully dodged it and kept on dodging, the woman wasn't giving him any time to stay in one spot, hell he wasn't even given the time to give any decent one liners or cold puns that he had been thinking up.

"Why won't you just die?"she said at him trying to box him into a corner.

"Oh I don't know, luck, maybe I'm charmed, or maybe just to spit people like you," Peter said firing a web line at her. He wasn't trying to hit her just keep her off balance. But he was also trying to make her mad, mad enough to follow him to a much larger area since in this lot even though it was a good size, wasn't going to do him any favours anytime soon. The place already had ice on the walls and he had major issues sticking to things like ice.

"I'm going to freeze you solid and shatter you to pieces you stupid bug!"

"Whoa don't hold back, tell me how you really feel."

"How did you even find me?" she asked him as she was sure that she had been careful. She left no trace of ice to this area, she made sure that no one saw her in costume as she had a long coat hidden a block away from here when she went out that was put in solid ice so no one could get to it. So just how the hell he found her was seriously irritating her.

"Sorry superhero code prevents me from telling you, if I did I would get kicked out of the union and I need the dental plan. So tell me your hair that natural blue or do you colour it cause I think you're roots are showing girl."

Killer Frost found many things annoying but at this point she had finally found someone just as annoying as the Flash. The guy just never shut up and his nonsense was bugging the hell out of her, she just needed one hit just one lucky shot to keep him still and she could freeze his head the first chance she got.

Peter could sense that he was really pushing her buttons, her attacks were coming faster and more wild. 'alright first I wind her up and then I wind her up a little more to make her blindly chase me, all the while hoping she doesn't get a decent hit on me and turns me into spider on ice.'

"Hey Ice Queen, you're going to catch your death of cold so here's something to warm you up," Spider-Man reached for his belt under the costume and tossed several small looking devices. A few managed to hit her and she looked at them wondering what they were, that is until they started to heat up. She cried out in pain as she started to rip them off and thrown them off her body glaring death at the hero.

"Oh I know that look, that's the look I get when I spill something on my girlfriend's uniform. Well...catch me if you can Miss Freeze!" He then jumped out of the window hearing a cry of outrage, Peter didn't both to look back he knew she would be on his tail plus his spider sense was telling him to keep his ass moving as well. He dodged when his spider sense told him too but kept on moving, hopefully she wouldn't notice that he was leading her on.

He finally reached the area he had scouted out and turned and threw himself to the left as a blast of ice glanced his ribs. The chilling cold bit into his ribs and he thermal underwear it seems had only offered very little protection. In fact he was sweating buckets with it on given thought it was nearing the end of spring and fall hadn't shown up yet so it was still a decent temperature. So wearing that, while battling only made him overheat under his costume.

He jumped up to get a bit of distance and fired another line of webbing and swung himself, he managed to aerial dodge her attacks and reached in for the last surprise he had. He threw it onto the ground near her as it went off. There was a few seconds of charging before a blast of heat hit the area. This was basically just a heating device that was rigged to overheat and basically blow up. It was actually fairly simple for someone like him and not the most elegant thing he could come up with. But from how stunned she looked he guessed it worked.

'Man I guess reading all those files on Batman's old cases actually came in handy. Still can't believe he managed to beat a guy with just chicken soup.' He thought recalling the first battle with Mr. Freeze. He landed ready to tie her up but his spider sense went off, but it was too late as she shot out a foot into his gut. He grunted and felt a left hook (at least he thought it was) to his head and a chilling blast of cold sending him skidding over the ground.

"Ouch...okay that hurt..."

"And I'm going to hurt you a lot more than that," Killer Frost said starting to feel a bit better. The effects of that heat device were fading but it stung like hell and she was going to give some payback to him for that.

Peter managed to get the feeling of cold on his side and the burning sensation of his body being used as a cheese grader on the ground and looked at the woman. He looked around for something and grabbed a garbage can and threw it as she ice blasted it. He used that time to roll himself out of the way and keep moving, because he knew if he stopped she could get another shot at him. He was panting now feeling the heat and the cold and his injuries playing havoc with his sense.

"What's a matter? No more jokes?" Killer Frost said as he powered up a large blast of ice and released it covering most of the ground.

Spider-Man jumped up and swung overhead of her and when she looked up he fired his webbing into her face. She was now blinded but he knew it wouldn't last long. 'I need to take her out fast the more I fight in this stuff the harder it will be to move. Come on where is something that...oh that will work...'

Killer Frost froze the webbing and ripped it off her faces crying out in rage, "I'm going to kill you! Where the hell are you!?"

"Right here you Frosty," she turned to fire at him again only to get her face smashed in by an old sigh that Spider-Man had ripped out of the concrete. He threw it down seeing that it was of all things a 'no loitering' sign.

"Normally I don't like to hit women...but lady...you're one hell of an exception," Peter tried to wipe the sweat off his brow and signed when he knew he'd had to wait until he found a nice quiet spot. But first, he had to wrap her up and get her to the cops before she woke up.

**Next up Chapter 19: New Breed of Hero**


	19. New Breed of Hero

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 19: New Breed of Hero**

**-Cadmus Science Labs-**

Overlooking the tubes with several scientists in white suits fully covered running tests over the beings inside of the liquids. There were several forms floating with breathing tubes and feeding tubes inside of them keeping them alive. There was also a helmet over each head these send nonstop signals into the brain with sounds going into the ears. These devices helped the clones to learn while in the tanks, since with what happened with the Kaine clone full memories were proving to be a problem given how long it took him to turn to their side.

Doctor Octavius was watching over in the control room looking at the readings. He sighed and rubbed his temple, he could literally feel what Fury did to his brain in times when he was getting stressed or worked hard. He swore that one day he'd find a way to repair that small part of his mind that controlled metal so he could be as he used to be. He missed his old arms, after all they were intelligent and were linked to his mind in a way they had been a part of him. But the problem was finding a place to research a way to do it.

That was one of the reasons he liked working here, he saw all kinds of things. There was something being done with nano technology that was very interesting to him. If he could get his hands on a sample he could reprogram them to repair the damage. The only problem was Waller as he knew if she wasn't watching him like a hawk she had others that were watching him.

But that was just one plan for himself, he could approach that sorcerer woman with the long hair but he never liked magic, he didn't understand it and as far as he knew flew in the face of everything he knew about science.

A beeping caught his attention and he saw that one of the subjects was complete and was trying to wake up. He grinned to himself thinking it was time to let the new one join the world, he started up the procedure that would let the clone out and told the science team to get ready. He then called up Amanda Waller as she was to know when this would happen, she seemed interested when he told her that he was waking up one of the members and told him to keep her appraised. He terminated the link as he concentrated on the process.

He watched at the tank drained itself out and as the figure slowly sank down to the floor of the tube it opened up. The men gently took out everything connected to him and started to lay him onto a table. Doctor Octopus looked over him from behind the glass looking at a slim man with red hair. He started to call up which one this was cloned from and what powers were to be expected, thankfully the sedatives in the tank would keep him under for a bit longer.

Unfortunately he should have checked which clone it was at first because if he had he would have known that the sedatives would wear off faster than a normal person. The clone's eyes snapped open, the first sight he had was of the ceiling and of the cold metal he was on. He tried to think but it was kind of sluggish, like his thoughts were being dragged through mud.

When he tried to remember who he was there were large gaps, some fragments of memory were getting to the surface but he couldn't remember his name or where he was, or why he was there. Now panic was starting to set in as he tried to move his body but it was like lead. The panic really struck him when he saw someone in a strange white suit with a visor over the face, the voice was muffled and he couldn't focus to understand the words. The person widened his eye with his fingers and started to flash a light into his eyes which stung.

The clone had had enough, he tried with all his might and finally managed to make his body move he shoved off the white suited man and tried to get up. His feet hit cold metal and noticed the room there were tanks everywhere with people in them. He looked to see other people in suits coming over to him he wasn't paying attention to what they were saying he was freaking out too much. He tried to speak but it was hard, so he instead acted. He found a trey with metal objects on it and threw it as them as he tried to move. He had to put all his will to get his body in motion, then it happened.

It came so suddenly a sensation like he was lighter than air, that the weight of his body just left him. He noticed that things around him seemed to slow down. What he didn't know was that he was starting to move at super human speeds. He tried to move around one of the tanks but it was hard to turn, like something was working against him. He bounced off the tank making it crack and tried to get his balance but he was still moving at super speed, and while moving at such speeds he didn't know that friction was still working against him and with his perception of time different he didn't know how to adjust to the speed.

He bounced off another and ran into one of the suited people, the force sent the person back first into a control panel. The person hit the controls and accidentally sent commands to the tanks that were overloading.

Doctor Octopus had seen this and went to the main controls trying to override what had been done, he tired to cancel the procedure but the computer was frozen as an error message flashed over the screen. He slammed his fist into the control panel in frustration and looked at the tanks status, the life signs were going erratic and if he didn't do anything he would lose the clones. A couple of them weren't finished and needed some fine tuning and one needed more time to grow but there was no time. He knew that Waller would be upset with him but she would most likely kill him or put him back into prison if he let the clones die on his watch.

So with left with no other choice he activated the emergency awakening sequence. All the tanks started to empty out now and he went to the PA system and yelled at everyone to get the clones stable. He saw the first clone trying to get back onto his feet.

"I've had just about enough of you as well," Dr. Octopus flipped open a plastic cover and flicked a switch. Green gas filled the room, it wasn't anything lethal just something that would knock out most of the clones and keep them docile just in case any more of them woke up from the sedatives wearing off sooner than expected.

The communications screen flash on and Amanda Waller's face was glaring at him from her own screen, "Doctor Octavius what the hell is going on down there? I got alerted to a containment failure."

"There was an accident with one of the subjects," he said while overlooking the operation below. "We have it contained now but he damaged a tank and the system. I had to awaken the clones prematurely but thankfully they are all still alive it seems."

"Damage to them?" Waller asked.

"Uncertain at this point but the feedback into the tanks didn't last long so any damage would most likely be limited but now we have to work with all of them since putting them back into the tanks is pretty much impossible at this point. Especially since a few of them had skin that will heal over the tubes and they are being taken out for safety reasons."

As expected Amanda Waller didn't look pleased with this and he knew that he would get an ear full of the woman later but she told him to keep working and they would just have to deal with the hand they were given. It would take too long to make more clones and a couple of them were very experimental to begin with anyway, and duplicating the results they had gotten so far would be too troublesome.

-New York-

It was night at the big apple but then again that hardly mattered for the 'city that never sleeps' as there was always something to do. That being said four women were walking in Times Square, even though it was always crowded people tended to part for them. Mainly because four women like them were hardly ever seen just walking down the street. Two black haired Amazons that were Diana and Donna, along with and equally tall and orange Starfire was with model/superhero Vixen as she was showing them a few of the more exciting areas.

Even though the sisters had been living in New York for months with their duties they had a hard time seeing the sights. Plus they needed a break and since Vixen was in down for a photo shoot she offered to show them around and Starfire was free and they all decided to make a night of it. Lately the female members liked to make these little get togethers as they helped to unwind, relax and of course the usual gossip that got thrown around.

"You know every time I see more and more of Man's World I have to admit despite some obvious faults there are many great things about it," Donna said seeing a group of young teens stare at her as she walked by in her more normal clothing. She was getting accustomed to the looks, but she mainly ignored that she had no desire to take on a male at this time. Well at least not just any, the person she chose would have to be something special.

She still felt a bit of a loss that she had been beaten by Kara for Peter's affection but she had moved on and wished them well. Although Peter had been the prime example of what she saw as a perfect male. He was strong, smart, funny, he cared deeply and he didn't try to dominate in a relationship as he had seen with Kara, he treated Kara like an equal in all things. Unfortunately she was finding that was not the case with some of the males she had met, although there was one that she had an eye on.

Diana was glad for the break, last night she had a nasty battle which she still had a few aches from and wanted to relax a bit. But she also wanted to get her mind off things, on that mission she had been with Batman and she could still sense that there was something between them. She just wished he would open up for once and let her in, but she knew that he had been hurt in the past, with talks with some other heroes and from Zatana she had learned of a few others.

Talia who turned out to be the daughter of an immortal tyrant, then there was that Catwoman, she also got the feeling that him having to leave Zatana had been hard on the both of them when they were younger. So it only stood to reason that now he guarded himself from getting too close, the only thing was that made her feel for him, the woman in her wanted to comfort him. It also infuriated her to no end because no matter what she tried he fought it, so the warrior in her saw it as a battle and they were both so very stubborn.

Diana wished she could have found someone else attractive, at least someone that wouldn't have fought against his feelings. But she put those thoughts aside with a curse to Bruce, here she was the mighty Wonder Woman, champion of the Amazons, a beacon for woman and she was brooding over a male. If her mother knew of this she would be embarrassed that her oldest daughter's actions but it was just so much harder than on the island. Relations with another woman were easier but with a man things just got unbelievably complicated and at times she had to wonder what was the point of it all?

Then she saw a couple there, with their arms around each other's waist looking into each other's eyes with a look she had rarely seen. They looked so happy and he never took his eyes off her when they passed and then she saw that she had an answer, that was why it was worth it.

"Are you alright?" Starfire asked seeing Wonder Woman look a little depressed over something.

"Oh it's nothing just something on my mind is all."

"Oh it's _him_ again huh?" Vixen shook her head.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," Diana said lifting her head up a bit it made her look like royalty that had just been insulted.

Vixen only smirked at her, "oh come on now we all know who it is."

"You are still having trouble with him?" Starfire asked and Diana sighed and nodded. "I see, well now I know where Dick got it from."

"Dick? Oh you mean Nightwing?" Diana asked knowing a bit about Bruce's family with Tim, and Dick as adopted sons.

"Yes," Starfire smiled a bit having him back in her life, "It took the both of us a very long time, although to be truthful he was a lot harder to open up. He kept his feelings very guarded and you would not believe what it took for us to finally become one." She still remembered that fateful trip to Japan where she and Nightwing (then Robin) shared their first kiss. Well besides the one she gave him when she first arrived to assimilate his language.

"Maybe you should ask him for advice sister," Donna smiled at her older sister, "He might know of a few things to help out after all."

"I could also ask if you are not comfortable with that," Starfire suggested.

"Thanks I just wish I knew what to do, he's just so damn stubborn that I want to hit him at times," Diana was completely frustrated over the entire thing with Bruce. She just wish she could move on but how to you just ignore how you feel?

"Girl I say just do what comes naturally to you," Vixen smirked at the taller woman, "go all Amazon on him march right into that batcave and lay down the law girlfriend. Just go at him head on and demand some answers out of him and don't let up. For men as stubborn as that you just got to break through whatever walls they put up, sometimes it's the only way because it could take forever to find another way around it."

Starfire started to wonder about her own relationship with Dick, she wondered if that approach would have worked back then? True she remembered a few times when the most honest emotions she got out of him was from direct confrontation about it, so what would have happened if she had locked him up in a room with her and forced the issue between them earlier?

"I hate to admit it but if he's like Dick, that might work," Starfire said out loud.

"Oh man I would pay to see what you do to him," Donna giggled at the thought of Batman at her big sister's mercy. Although he was a 'normal' human with no powers the guy was scary, she got the creeps around him when he was in his darker moods and not for the first time she wondered how her sister could cope with that. Okay she would admit he was physically the perfect male, she had seen pictures of Bruce Wayne and he was handsome, and he was a great warrior if only he wasn't so scary and dark...

"You know, I think I will. I've given him his space, I've done things his way but I'm tired of this chase. I want to do things my way for a change and he'll learn what it means to face an angry Amazon very soon." Diana said with a very determined look in her eyes. The other women had to admit they wished they could watch and see what Bruce would do when an angry Amazon came right up to him and demanded answers.

**-Cadmus Facility-**

When she first woke up she had no idea what was going on, who she was or why she was in a bed or why her back hurt. Actually it wasn't really her back it felt like something else on her back hurt but she couldn't place it, it was an odd feeling and she tried to get up.

"Hey looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up."

"Easy there it's a bit hard to get used to when you first wake up."

She felt someone helping her up and she looked to see a room full of people she didn't know, "what...what's going on?"

"Let me guess you got no idea who you are, where you are and you feel all tired all over right?" A young boy was sitting down across from her bed asked. He had short dark hair and didn't look to be in the best of moods.

"Yeah...what's going on?" she asked and felt something shift behind her, and a sensation of something of hers brushing up against someone.

"Hey watch the wings!"

She looked to her right to see that she did have wings she actually had a pair of wings on her back that had hit the red haired man next to her. She wanted to say she was sorry but she was too shocked by the fact she had working wings. She experimented and felt them flex and move, she looked around and noticed no one else had on any wings either. She had no idea what was going on now, what was she? She obviously wasn't normal that was certain.

"Careful you don't want to harm yourself," a young girl said and she looked and blinked. The girl was green with red hair. That wasn't something she thought was possible, in fact she looked like a teenager but at least it made her feel a bit better knowing that she wasn't alone in being different.

The sound of a door opened and in walked in two people, the man wore a simple black one piece suit and the woman in a white one with a circular hole in the chest area. They walked in looking around them, there was the red headed man there in all yellow suit looking like he was itching to do something. The boy was casting them an annoyed look, the young girl was looking unsure of what was going on, the woman with wings and short brown hair was being held up by a young man with short dark hair but with a white streak in it.

"Well it's nice to see you all up and around and I know you got questions," the woman stated to them. "First off my name if Galatea and this is Kain, and you're at the Cadmus facility, your most likely wondering why you can't remember anything well that's simple, you don't have any memories."

"So what the hell are you saying?" the kid asked sharply.

"You're like us, you're clones," she explained to them seeing their reactions.

"Wait clones? But...I swear I know things," the red headed man looked and he could name every object in the room and knew things that only could be learned.

"You were giving information as you grew, you weren't given the genetic memory of the people you were clones from," Galatea said.

"Trust me you're better off that way I got them and they're nothing but trouble since all it does is reminds me of what I am and what I can never be," Kaine said evenly to them all.

Galatea nodded her own agreement to that, "plus there is another reason. Kaine and I are pure clones, you all were cloned from a primary course but the DNA samples weren't too complete and a few of the gaps needed to be filled in so a few extra sources were put in. You're all basically either fifty percent or seventy-five percent genetically compatible with the primary DNA sample."

"So if you have memories of two different people that would just be confusing as hell. Plus as some of you have guessed you're not exactly cloned from human sources, I'm a...clone...of an alien myself." She hated to admit that she was a clone but it was necessary for them to trust her and although the word tasted like bile in her throat saying it she would help these people.

Kaine saw her discomfort and stepped in, "anyways the eggheads figured that it would be easier to not try and make full clones. For you angel-girl you have little difference in your looks and for why the green girl is...well actually a girl since the original is a guy."

"I-I was supposed to be male?" the green girl was shocked by that revelations.

"Yeah," Kaine scratched the back of his head trying to figure out how you tell a girl that she was supposed to be born as a boy. "I guess they just didn't understand your DNA that well."

"So why the hell is she and me so young then?" the boy asked jumping off his seat to stand up to them.

Kaine immediately labelled him the 'rebel without a cause or clue' type, "Blame 'speedy' over there, he went nuts and nearly killed you all so they had to bring you out sooner."

"Hey I didn't know!" the red haired speeder felt a bit bad that he had nearly killed them all but in his own defence he had been confused and disoriented. The memories of what had happened were still fuzzy to him.

"So why were we crated?" this question came from the young man with the white streak in his hair, he had been patiently awaiting some answers to what was going on. Looking around he figured there was a purpose to them but he wanted to know from these two.

"Basically on the outside there are lots of people with powers," Galatea began, "and not all of them use them to help people. There are those that use their powers for wealth, to take what they want with no regard for who they hurt. But there are threats from aliens, Earth has been invaded at least three times in the past few years alone. But there is another problem, and that's who to trust."

"There are people that call themselves heroes out there but we're seen what happens when they snap, or get put under someone's control. There needs to be someone that the government can trust, and so far the heroes out there haven't been shown to be too trustworthy, some more than others. Plus they have a laser pointed at the earth of all things."

Kaine walked over to the wall and there was a screen there, he turned it on and with a small panel on the side brought up several images. They showed the JL Tower in space, they showed the alien invasions, one of them led by Superman when he was under the control of Darksied. There is showed the Thanagarian invasion and showed how Hawkgirl had betrayed the Earth and the team she was on and then betrayed her own race.

The girl with the wings looked at the woman on the images and she already knew, she hadn't seen her own face yet but she knew that this was the woman she was cloned from. It felt like someone had hit her in the gut, knowing that she was cloned from someone like that.

"As you can see, Cadmus had good reason to make us," Galatea said to them all seeing them watch as the Justice Lords came into the scene and the sight of purely evil versions of the League and the things they did. She didn't have to guess at what they were thinking, she could see it in their faces and in their eyes they would join and they would be a team. It felt strange to her, she had felt unique being the only clone but when Kaine showed up she realized that she had been lonely as well, and he helped to make her feel less alone.

Now she was getting more people that could understand her and relate to her. It was strange but in a good way at first she didn't want this but looking at them she could almost feel a bond with them a bond that only someone that was like her could ever being to understand. For the first time she felt like she could belong and it felt good.

**Next up Chapter 20: Training Days**


	20. Training Days

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 20: Training Days**

It was an ordinary looking day in a city in the United States, people were walking the busy streets, it was in the afternoon just before the rush hour hit so traffic was a bit lighter. It was filled with the usual noise found in a metropolis of its size, but then that's when a large explosion was heard as smoke filled the sky several blocks away. In a section of the city there was a crater with a large metallic sphere that was still heated from re-entry. There was a hissing noise as a hatch popped off and flew away. Then from outside of it came several large looking aliens.

They were at least eight feet tall with black skin and red eyes, they looked reptilian in appearance and carried some body armor on various places on the body, each one with a unique look. They carried different types of weapons, staffs with a three point end, large curved swords and some with advanced alien weapons. The one that had to be the leader since he was the largest of them with a very stylized helmet garbled something out in an alien tongue and the lizard men attacked.

On the rooftop looking down at them stood a man in blue and gold suit, he had on a golden helmet with a matching shield. This was Jim Harper but while in costume he was named, Guardian leader of the Cadmus team. He looked over at his shoulder at his assembled team, "alright you know the plan people let's do this."

The actions were immediate, after months of training the team was finally coming along Jim thought as he watched his team move out. First there was the man in a yellow version of the Flash costume, he had taken on the name of Hunter Zoloman but now he was known simply as Zoom the fastest member on the team. He was racing at super speeds taking civilians out of the way and giving a super speed punch here and there to the lizard men.

Next was the female clone of a Martian, the girl was dressed in a blue skirt (which to him was a little on the short side) a white top with a red X on it, with a blue cape. She was flying into the battle and then transformed into a giant green snake to start the fight. Originally they gave her the name Megan Morse but she altered it to reflect her species and called herself M'gann M'orzz AKA Miss Martian, or just 'Megan' to her friends.

In the air came their flyers, one was a woman in a Thanagarian mask with a green and yellow costume with weapon belt. She was now named Kendra Sanders now as Hawkwoman, she didn't want to be called Hawkgirl since even though Shayera had stopped using the name she wanted her own identity so she altered the name. Besides she was a woman not a girl and didn't like the idea of someone calling her a 'girl' at any rate. With her where her other two new teammates, a young boy in a black and red costume with a Superman S on it, although they had tried to get him to take the S off he was adamant about it and by calling himself Superboy.

The other member was the dark haired young man with a white streak in his hair, he wore a black version of Galatea's costume which given that he was calling himself Power Boy although he had yet to decide on a real name for himself at the moment. The three of them flew down into the battle as they took the enemy on the left side of the battle.

Then came in the last two members with Guardian to close off the enemy aliens on all three sides, there was Galatea, and Kain in his new costume, it covered him up, up to his long hair that was still showing, it was all black with white veins over it and a tattered purple cloak as well. His face was covered and he stilled used the name Kaine for battle. Guardian looked at his team as they surrounded the aliens, "all right attack plan Alpha, cover each other and watch out for surprises!"

The team moved out as they started to fight, Guardian moved with speed of an enhanced human and used his shield to deflect a few laser bolts that sent his way and used it with a backhand to slam the shield into the face of the lizard man sending him stumbling back, a yellow blue of Zoom came in and the alien warrior was gone and most likely would end up somewhere else and out of the fight.

Power Boy and Superboy were flying towards them having the lasers hit harmlessly on their bodies as Power Boy slammed into the ground causing huge chunks being ripped out of the ground from the force of impact scattering two of the lizard men. Superboy landed with a small scowl, he knew who he was cloned from but it seemed that Cadmus screwed up as he didn't have super strength. He had been trying for over a month before they figured out that he had something different.

The egg heads called it tactile telekinesis, he didn't understand everything but from what he could get was that he had this force field thing over his body that let him fly and able to take a pounding, and he managed to get around the whole super strength with something that was just as similar. As he landed on the ground he smirked at the lizard man trying to get up.

"Boy are you one ugly sucker," he smiled as she touched the ground and the ground seemed to come alive as pipes from beneath the street shot up and started to wrap around the alien. "Got ya with that one didn't I?"

Suddenly he was engulfed in some type of bolo thing as he tried to get out when a loaming shadow of one of the lizard men was in mid jump with some type of energy sword over his head in a downswing aiming right for the young clone. That is until a mace hit the alien on the head as a winged woman came flew in. The alien went flying into a store window as she floated there looking down at the young man with a smirk on her face.

"Always getting into trouble aren't you?" Kendra asked.

He managed to rip himself out of the restraints and looked up a little annoyed, "hey I could have handled it, not like that thing might have actually hurt anyway."

She shook her head, sometimes she just didn't understand the kid at times, she hefted the mace and flew on. She was glad that after the invasion Cadmus managed to get a lot of Thanagarian technology and weapons. The mace in her hand as well as a triangular blade she had strapped to her thigh were of the same special metal that they liked to make out of their weapons. Although she did admit, using a mace like her counterpart she wasn't sure about but it just felt right to use it, like she had been using it all her life it was a weird sensation.

While talking to the others they too felt some sensations of familiarity at times with certain things, and the name 'phantom sensations' were thrown around as some type of left over memory or feeling from the ones they were cloned from. Well except for Power Boy, apparently he had been some type of experimental clone with various DNA patterns merged, he was supposed to be some type of prototype for a new type of clone but he had been the only one they made.

The fight didn't drag on or anything, with them all together they managed to overpower the aliens. Kaine was using his superior agility and speed to dodge the attacks he grabbed one with the flat of his hand using his powers to stick to him and threw him up into the air, "coming your way Tea."

"Got him," Galatea smiled as he fist connected with the face of the alien and he slammed into the ground knocked out from the force of her blow and impact. She looked down at her team, it was still a strange concept for her but she was starting to like this. In a way she didn't feel so alone anymore, still she was getting used to working as a team all this time she fought on her own so she had to rethink how she fought her battles with others in mind.

It was hard but she was making progress at least.

As soon as the lizard aliens were defeated there was a loud klaxon as the world shimmered and was quickly replaced by a dome with lots of lines all around it and mechanical robots on the floor. Guardian looked up at the control room with a smile on his face, "how did the team do this time?"

Through a intercom unit a voice of a technician was heard, "the computer says that the team reaction time is up by five percent, no civilian casualties this round, although there is some room to improve by lowering proper damage and the timing took two minutes longer than the last time."

"Well what do you expect?" Superboy asked clearly annoyed, "all we do is train, train and train. I'm sick of it and I'm getting tired already."

"I agree with him, plus I need to eat something soon," Zoom said feeling the effects of his super fast metabolism. He needed more energy as his body was starting to eat up any energy in his system for fuel.

"My wings could use a rest," Hawkwoman said taking off her mask and wiping her face from the sweat.

Guardian looked at the others and he nodded himself, "I think the team deserves a break. I still think we did good today and I want you all to eat up and get some rest. I think pretty soon our team will be ready for the real world pretty soon."

"Good because I'm getting sick and tired of being in this base all the time," Kendra said she felt the need for some real sky to fly in, it was almost like an instinct to fly into the skies and she really was feeling the need, at least until after she had a nice long rest.

As they filed out they went into a change room for each gender and took a nice shower before putting on jumps suits there was a large cafeteria like room where they would eat together, Superboy of course was bragging on how well he thought he did, Kendra looked annoyed and wanted to smack him, Zoom was over at a table just eating, Power Boy was with the other smiling at Superboy's antics while M'gann was eating with them just listening in as she was having trouble understanding social interactions.

Kaine was sitting in chair looking at them with a tray in front of him, he was just trying to figure out why he felt that they were the lucky ones. He knew what happiness was but only through the eyes of another so technically when had he truly been happy and not just the memory of it? The whole thing just gave him a headache so he pushed it away. Then someone was sitting beside him and he knew who it was.

Galatea and Kaine always sat together, maybe it was habit or maybe it was just because they felt more comfortable around each other than the others. She ate a little as she watched the other and she had the same feelings about the whole thing as him, "why is it so different for us?"

He sighed not sure how to answer and not because he had no idea what she was talking about, but because he had been trying to figure that out himself.

"Maybe it's because we know what they're missing, we know how the other half live and how we were denied so much. They're all new to this, a blank slate while us...we know what the other is like and their lives," he finally said.

She angrily stabbed a piece of her meal with a fork, "it's not fair. I still got some of her memories and experiences from that link. It's like the memories do nothing but mock me and my existence."

Kaine nodded his head he sure could relate to that.

"Hey love birds, you having a romantic moment together or what?" Superboy called out to them snapping both their attention towards him.

It took a moment for there to be a reaction but Galatea stood up and slammed her hands onto the table, "what the hell did you say you little pipsqueak!?"

He just grinned back at her reaction, "you heard me you and him are always together and hardly apart even in the training you two work together a lot. So what's up, you two banging on the side?"

Kaine's jaw dropped a bit and Galatea tried to say something but she honestly didn't know what to say to something like that. Kaine cast a small glance to her and for a moment he thought he saw her blush a bit, something he had never seen her do. Although from his view he would admit she was hot, hell he knew that the first time he saw her but he hadn't really been in any mood to entertain those types of thoughts.

He could see her profile very well as she was leaning forward slightly, her long legs, and he would admit just to himself a perfect ass with hourglass figure. Full breasts, her heart faced shaped face was framed perfectly by her hair and her full lips. Hell if things had been different he might have tried something but she was his friend, actually his first friend in his life of his.

Galatea just didn't know what the hell he the brat of the team was talking about, sure she liked Kaine. He was like her, she enjoyed spending time with him but she had never had romantic feelings in her life she wouldn't even know them even if she had them. So why was she so angry about it? And was that why she felt her face heat up a bit?

"Wow look at that blush guys," Superboy said and that was it for her.

"That's it! You're dead you little science experiment, they're going to have to re-clone you all over again when I'm done with you!" She shouted out and flew to get him, and he quickly dodged.

Guardian however just sat back and let them do this, he would step in if things got out of hand but the team needed this, they needed something like this to make them feel more like a family and something to release the stress from all the training that was taking their toll on them. He would have to ask Director Waller if they could be let out at least for a day to make the team feel less like prisoners.

He had to admit though if the boy had a point about the two of them, they were unusually close but then again they had known each other the longest he just hoped that if anything did happen it wouldn't affect the team. That was one problem with romance in the workplace it could get in the way and in their line of work that could cost lives. He winced when a large smashing sound was heard but since Superboy was still taunting her he guessed that whatever she tried to use to hit him with missed.

He sighed as he drank his coffee, it was an odd team but they were his team. He knew they were clones but to him they were people, hell his new body was cloned from his old one with some improvements which got a lot of getting used to. But he had to admit to be young and healthy again was simply amazing, now he would whip these kids into shape and they could be a real team.

Although he did wonder how the Justice League would handle things, he remembered how that other team the Ultimen had been around they never did say whatever happened to them. But after how they acted in the end he guessed they were being placed somewhere safe, well his team would be different. No glory hogs on this team they were put together to save lives and that's what they would do.

**-New York-**

Central Park was one of the major landmarks of New York City, an extremely large wooded area that you could spend all day in if you wanted to, although not exactly the best place at night sometimes. Plus even though beautiful in the day time and sometimes at night depending on the season, there was the ugly side to it. Graffiti on some of the bridges and underpasses, garbage that some jerks just left not bothering with the simple movement of putting it in a trash can, left over needles from people trying to be high or in the bushes left over condoms of people who got a rush from doing it in the woods and not being caught.

But this sunny morning Central Park was definitely one of the days that made people want to come and see the place. A woman was currently holding up a camera as she was taking a picture of Belvedere Castle one of the famous landmarks of the park. It was a castle built on one of the highest areas of the park, with a large pond on a large rock formation called Vista Rock.

"There I hope that looks good," Donna Troy said as she put down her camera and then looked the young man next to her, "Thanks for helping me with this."

Peter with his own camera around his neck just shrugged with a grin, "hey what are friends for and besides it's nice to help someone get into photography, you'd be the only other person who gets what I talk about when I go into it."

"I'm still learning but I do enjoy it, there is just something about capturing life in a split second like you've captured a moment in life perfectly," she smiled looking around the park as they walked on. She looked around the park at all the people and the city in the background this was just another thing about the outside world that was marvellous. There was so many things that the outside world had accomplished and so many wonders. Although it had its down sides like the smells of the city weren't too pleasant at times but you strangely got used to it, but lately she had been thinking of having a life of her own.

Sure she did her thing as a champion of her people and representative and a hero of the League but she wanted something more. A life away from it all, and she was searching for something that she enjoyed after all she wanted to be more than just Diana's little sister, something to make her stand out. Plus other things were on her mind lately and that was David Longshadow, she had been spending a lot of time with him and she liked it. He made her laugh and smile and he was pleasant to be around he was like Peter in a way, and like him was the total opposite of how she had heard what men were like on the island.

Of course she had seen that her sisters' views weren't totally accurate but then again there were thousands of years of separation between what had been and what is now. As they walked on Donna thought about the tall man in her life and she was starting to wonder if she felt more than just friendship.

'_Who am I kidding, I think of David as more than a friend,' _she sighed to herself, '_although what if he doesn't feel the same?'_

She looked over at Peter remembering how she had opened her heart once before and ended up being hurt, sure she had acted like nothing happened but in truth she had been depressed for over a month. Seeing him with Kara had been hard but she had gotten over it but there was that lingering doubt in her mind, did she really want to go through all that heartache all over again if he told her that he didn't feel anything other than just friendship. She just wanted to be a bit more sure of things before she took that leap, if only she could figure it out.

'_Damn it why must men be so simple and yet so complicated?' _she thought to herself.

"So then you still trying to find something to do with your life other than wear that red spandex suit and save people?" Peter joked with a smile.

She gave a small smile back, "yes but it's not easy. Not like I have the education for much since I never went to any school other than being taught on the island. I just wish I could do something I liked but somehow I doubt there is a place where I could earn money fighting in that costume."

"You could always wrestle," he shrugged and saw the dirty look he was getting.

"I've seen those programs and they are laughable and I don't like how most of the women are in that."

"Hey it was just a suggestion, I mean I tried my hand at that before I went into the hero business and..." he trailed off remembering what that led to. "Yeah you know what? Forget I said that at all."

Donna didn't ask why he suddenly got less cheerful knowing it most likely he had just remembered something bad in his life. She had heard some of the stories about his life and she had to admit after losing so much she wondered how he found the strength to go on again. But she wouldn't push him on the subject, if he wanted to say something she would let him tell her in his own time if he wanted to.

"I wish I could just take pictures for a living like you do," she commented and Peter got a look on his face like he was thinking about it.

"Wouldn't be too bad although photojournalism isn't as easy as I make it look, hell without my powers to get all the cool angles and actions shots I might not have made it."

"Well what else is there?"

Peter thought about it and tried thinking of what else you can use a camera for and he suddenly got an idea. "Hey...how about Vixen?"

She blinked a few times lost in what he was talking about, what did Vixen have anything to do with photos?

"Okay she's a supermodel right? Well they need people to take their pictures."

Now she was catching on although she had to admit some of this world's sense of fashion wasn't exactly to her liking or how some women were looked at as no more than sexual objects. But there was something else to it, there was an art to it and there were very tasteful images she had seen that celebrated what it was to be a woman and showed that any woman could be beautiful and strong even. She began to think about it but there was just one problem.

"How will I even start to get into that? I have no experience and I haven't a clue where to begin," she sighed her hopes starting to fall a bit.

"In case you just forgot, we know a supermodel on a first name bases, okay also on an alias bases but that's beside the point. I'm sure that if you asked she would love to help you out, maybe get you some lessons from a professional and maybe using her for you to practice and have something to show what kind of work you do."

Donna listened to him and she had to admit the idea had merit, she turned to face him with a large smile on her face, "anyone tell you that you're a lot smarter than you look."

"Hey!" He gave a pouty look that she thought actually looked very cute and she giggled.

**Next up chapter 21: Auditions**


	21. Audition

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 21: Audition**

**-Batcave-**

Bruce was in his usual mood, dressed in his Batman costume he was at the Bat computer looking up details on a new crime ring that was starting to operate inside of Gotham they were obvious from out of town and were from another city trying to set up shop in his city. He knew how that would go over with the local crime powers it would mean increase in violence and if things got very ugly a full blown gang war. In those there were just too many innocent people that got hurt and killed in the crossfire. So he decided to stop it before it turned ugly.

He was trying to find the weak points in their organization with their businesses, looking for the fronts they were using for money for their operations, if he took them out it would be a step in the way of making it too much trouble to try and open shop in Gotham plus without any footholds it would be nearly impossible to keep their businesses and vices working.

That was when he heard the sound of the teleportation device used by the League. There were only a few people that could use that to get into the cave since only a few people in the League even know who he really was let alone where the cave was.

'_If this is Clark trying to get me to help him train some of the new guys again or him trying to hide from Lois again by 'helping' me here I'm going to take out that piece of Kryptonite I've been saving away,'_ he thought to himself.

But the clicking of heels told him that it wasn't Clark. He stiffened a bit knowing only one person who would just walk right into his cave that wore some type of heels, or more precisely heeled boots. Then he could smell it, and not just any smell either but her smell. She always smelled of jasmine for some reason he figured it was whatever she put into her hair but there was a hint of something else in it that he could never figure out. He wasn't sure why she was here but he was conflicted with her and he hated being conflicted.

On the one hand he knew that he was attracted to her, hell just by looks alone any male would be, but it wasn't just that. It was who she was as a person, her sense of justice was as sharp and steady as any sword and she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty either something that he respected. She had a code of ethics which were like his in some parts. He respected her and the fact was after all this time he came to care about her and that was dangerous.

He had been down this road before he had been hurt before too many times. Plus the Mission came first before his own needs. But every time she was around he had doubt, and he hated that. He couldn't afford to be conflicted or have doubts he needed to be sharp and focused. So he pushed her to arms length, keeping her just as a friend but to allow anything more would just be asking for trouble, besides he had thought of the logistics of it. An interpersonal relationship inside of the team wasn't always a good thing he had seen a few of the couples and what happened when they didn't get along from some personal reason.

"Hello Diana," he simply said to her not turning around.

Diana hated it when he did things like that, but pushed past it. "Bruce we need to talk."

Bruce had heard those words and in that tone so many times from would be girlfriends who had wanted more from him, so he usually dumped them and moved on. They were just to keep up appearances and hardly any of them he had even liked well enough to commit to. Unfortunately Diana was a whole other type and he couldn't use his usual things when dealing with her.

He turned around to face her and stood up to meet her face, normally his tall height was a bit intimidating but she was roughly the same height as he was plus she didn't respond well to intimidation anyway.

"I want to know what is going on between us," she demanded.

He looked at her for a moment before he said, "We're friends and we work together, what else is there?"

That got her pissed and he could see it, that was the one thing that he wished she could do and that was control her emotions more she was sometimes too passionate at times.

"Don't give me that Bruce, you and I both know that there is more to us than just friends. At least that's what I feel. Damn it why do you have to keep pushing me away? I want to try for something more but every time I try you always find some excuse to leave or skate around the topic."

"After everything we've been through I think I deserve to have some answers Bruce. You know that I care for you more than just a friend and I've been patient with you, I've waited but I can't stand this anymore. Of all the men I had to fall for why I fell for you I'm not sure, but I have Bruce and I want more than just friendship with us."

"That wouldn't be possible," Bruce said.

"Why? Why is it so impossible?"

"For starters it would complicate things in the team, you've seen how some of the couples get when they can't focus right when they get into personal arguments."

"That also happens to everyone else who isn't together it's part of being human," she told him although that also included those that weren't human. "Try another one."

"Fine then personal wise how would it even work? You can't hide your emotions so it will have to be as Batman that we date but I still have an image of Bruce Wayne to keep up. If I stop seeing someone people will wonder why and start to dig and I can't afford that it's hard enough to keep both my lives separate."

Diana hadn't thought about any of that, she had forgotten how Bruce kept his two lives separated and how complicated it would be. There was no way she wanted to date him while he had to keep up his persona of the playboy and 'dating' other women.

"Fine then we can date with you as Bruce Wayne," she told him bluntly.

Again he shook his head, "It still wouldn't work. Sure suddenly Bruce Wayne is dating a superhero but the longer that happens the more complicated things get. Your enemies will try to use me to get to you and that makes my life more complicated. Also the fact that you have to remain distant when I'm Batman in public or else people will wonder if there is anything going on between us, and some might start to think that Bruce Wayne and Batman might be the same person."

"I've thought about this Diana, and there is just no way to get around the dangers of this, as Batman I have many enemies and over the years people close to me have been used against me. Which happens in this business, look at how many times Lois Lane was put into danger because of her link to Superman."

She didn't looked convinced to him, "Are you saying I'm helpless? In case you forgot I can take bullets, being blown up, hit with a force that would kill a normal person and get right back up. In any case I'm the one that should be worried on who gets hurt between us."

"That's the other thing too," he said. "If we try this out then we would put the other before anything else and that can't happen. Too many people depend on people like us."

Diana walked up to Bruce and she wished he didn't have that cowl on, she wanted to see his eyes and see what he was really feeling at this moment. "Bruce please just tell me...How do you feel about me, about us?"

He looked at her for a long moment debating telling her the truth or not, but in the end she deserved the truth she had that much owed to her.

"I do care Diana, more than I should. Yes we're friends and yes I've wondered if we could become more and I've thought about it, wanted it...but like I've said it would be impossible for it to last. I don't want to make you into just another woman that I see and later dump, I can't do that to you and I don't want you to go through that kind of pain so I decided that no matter what I feel I should put my feelings aside."

Diana wanted to argue his points, she wanted to scream at him and yell at him that he was being stupid but she was having a hard time trying to find a logical way around his reasoning, "Isn't there any way Bruce? If there was some way for us to see each other would you at least try?"

Bruce had thought through it all but there was just no way, there was a part of him that truly wanted to try but he couldn't see it. But if this would get her to stop to move on then it was for the best, "If there was a way I would agree to it but I don't see anything do you?"

With that he turned away from her and went back to his work and she just stood there lost in thought. He heard the teleportation and he wanted to work but his hands just froze on the keyboard. He finally just sat back and sighed looking at the screen but not seeing what was on it. He shouldn't be upset after all he kept telling himself that there was just no way for it to work and to stop brooding on it, so why couldn't he just put her out of his mind?

For Diana things weren't going as well, she had ended up going back to her place and just crashing on the couch just staring up at the ceiling. There seemed to be no justice in the world, here she had finally managed to get Bruce to admit that he liked her more than a friend but then he had to pull his damn logic on her, sure he agreed that if she found a way for them to date he would but what was there?

After two hours of thinking in circles she had no idea at all.

'_Damn it. How do the others handle things like this?'_ She thought to herself darkly. _'John and Shayera have no secrets from the world as everyone knows who they are. But who else is a couple?'_

She thought of Peter and Kara and how they made things work, they had their own identities in life and no one knew who they were as superheroes even though Kara went by her first name among the League, just like Superman was just Clark Kent but that didn't help her at all since she...

She bolted up from her position as an idea was forming it was so simple that she should have tried it before. Sure she never felt the reason to try it but maybe this would work out but to make her idea work she would need a lot of help, she knew that Clark would be on the top of her list but she would need help with other things to help set it up.

A grin started to play on her face, "Bruce Wayne you are about to get a surprise."

**-Elsewhere-**

Donna wasn't sure if she was having a good day or not at the moment, she had gone to Vixen about the idea of getting into fashion photography and she had enjoyed the idea. It would be nice to have someone else that understood the life in fashion and being a super hero as well so Vixen took the young woman aside and they spoke to great lengths about Donna's choice. Vixen explained a lot about what the job was like and what to expect and any tips, she also managed to make some calls and here she was on the set of a photo shoot.

She was surprised by how many people it took to make one of these, she saw the models and the other staff, she saw a few men in suits a couple talking on phones, there was a large table with food and lots of water she would learn later just how hot it could get in the room with all the lights. There were other people running around, she saw a few putting on makeup for the women and others doing other odd jobs so she wasn't sure what they were there for. She also felt a bit out of her element at the moment, she had no idea what she was doing other than the lessons Peter had been giving her lately.

She wasn't sure where to go until a voice called out her name, she looked to see Vixen waving over to her and Donna walked over, she was a bit glad that she was in her normal clothing of jeans, a black shirt and red jacket that she liked. For some reason people didn't associate her with the name Wonder Girl when she wasn't in costume which was nice not to be noticed all the time. She smiled as she walked over to her new friend.

"I'm glad you found the place okay, Donna here are a few of the friends I have here." Vixen went on introducing various models. A blue eyed blonde named Julie, a red head with long hair and high cheekbones named Amanda and a Japanese girl named Kimiko.

"So this is the new friend of yours that wasn't to get into shooting huh?" Julie asked looking her up and down, "Personally we could use more women in this field because some of these men are just pigs at times."

"You're only saying that because you like women and don't try on hit on her either Julie I'm warning you," Vixen said to her. She was a good person but sometimes she worried that Julie's distaste for men came off as a bit too strong. She knew that Julie just put up a strong front at work just to keep men from who didn't know her sexual preferences from asking her out all the time. It just got annoying with the woman so she acted a bit like that from time to time. Although Vixen did admit some of the men could be pigs but that was the minority, men like that didn't last long in this business after all and only the truly professional stayed in.

"I think she's kind of cute, you ever think of trying to model youself?" Kimiko smiled at her tilting her head looking at the young woman. She had legs, an hour glass figure that she had to work hard herself to keep and those facial features looked like they were sculpted to perfection.

Donna just smiled and shook her head, "sorry but I prefer to be behind the camera."

"Well I hope things work out," Amanda said as she got up to the set up for the shoot, "but I have to get going my turns up and I just hope they turn out better than that last one I did."

"Oh it wasn't that bad, it happens." Vixen said to her which didn't seem to do much. There had been a slight mistake in one of the photos and part of Amanda's nipple showed you wouldn't know unless you were looking hard but someone had been and it had been posted all over the net. Amanda did do nude shots but only when she had something covering to hide things like that. Amanda had been a bit upset that a mistake like that had happened but unfortunately things like this tended to happen from time to time.

Usually they were caught before publishing but the odd one always seemed to slip out and most just accepted it as a hazard of the job.

Donna talked a bit more with the models until a man with dark hair and matching clothing and classes came over. He had a slight accent that Donna couldn't really place as he came over to them.

"Ah so is this the new blood you wanted to show me?"

"Yep, his is Donna. Donna this is the photographer Sven." Vixen introduced.

"A pity you don't want to share those looks with the world but alas it is the way of things," Sven said with a slight exaggerated motion with his hand. "So then, do you have any experience, other than the photos you took of Mari here?"

Now Donna was a bit nervous about this, she honestly didn't but she didn't want to lie to him. "No not really, I have gotten lessons from a friend of mine who is a photojournalist though. He's been helping me out for awhile now."

"Oh really? Anyone I would know?" Sven asked.

"Oh uh...I don't know, he works in New York at the Daily Journal, his name if Peter Parker. He takes a lot of action shots of heroes at work and takes a lot of Spider-Man images."

"Hmmm...Sounds familiar but I can't place the name with a face," Sven said deep in thought.

"Oh Spider-Man? Mari how come you never bring any of your super hero hunks here?" Kimiko asked. "I mean I would love to meet someone like Spider-Man, that suit really doesn't hide much and he's so strong and agile. Plus there's Superman and well enough said about him, and then there's Flash, Green Arrow, and others."

Vixen smirked at this, Kimiko was a super hero fan girl it took months for her to act normal around Vixen when they first met and over time they got into a real friendship although she still asked from time to time to set her up with some type of hero.

"Sorry but most of those guys are taken, and you know Spider-Man is seeing Supergirl." Vixen said nearly laughing at the memory of when that photo of Spider-Man and Supergirl kissing came out, those two got a lot of teasing from that and Flash made sure copies of the image were posted all over the Tower for a week straight.

"Well at least he has good taste," Julie smiled at her friend she had to admit Supergirl was cute if a couple of year younger than she preferred her women.

"Well then enough of that Donna please follow with me," Sven told her as they walked on.

"First you will see how I work, then you will assist me and then I will help you with taking of the photos." He told her in a serious voice and Donna just nodded her head. The rest of the day was a lot of work, she had to reload cameras and also concentrate on Sven's explanations of not only what he was doing but why. There actually was a lot behind what he did she was surprised to learn and it was more complicated than she thought but when it was her chance to take a few shots she was nervous but quickly put that aside.

She made the models pose into different ways, and she tried to make her own unique style to it, she wanted to show these women as beautiful but yet powerful in a way. To make them stand out more and seem confident and strong and yet still very feminine. Over time Sven gave her less and less advice as she managed to catch on pretty quickly. In fact Donna was starting to enjoy her work very much there was just something about the whole experience that was intoxicating.

She could explain it but she was really starting to like this line of work.

**-Gotham City-**

It had been over a week since Diana's 'visit' to the cave and Bruce was getting the idea that she had been avoiding him all this time. Well he couldn't blame her but he had to lay down the truth for her no matter how hard it was on both of them. Now he was hosting one of the Wayne functions again, he forgot which one it had been for before he saw the banner. It was for one of those get togethers that the rich and powerful put on to make contacts and deals on the surface of it being a 'charity' event.

At least the money for the dinner would go to a good cause it was the only reason he came to these things anyway, he hated the parties like this. They were so fake but then again was he any different? The mask he wore all the time when he was out in the public eye was just that, just another mask he wore only this one instead of bringing fear and terror had a charming smile and made strangers friends and woman swoon over him.

But that wasn't the real him, it was just something he had to do to keep his real life a secret. No one outside of his real family knew the real him, everyone here thought they knew Bruce Wayne but he sometimes wondered how they would react if they knew his real secret. Sometimes he could actually smile at the thoughts of the faces and reactions that would get him, at least he wouldn't have to put up with this little show of his anymore.

But the Mission was important, he was needed and as long as he was needed he would have to take the good and the bad. He was walking through the crowds of people, shaking hands, making jokes and fact smiles at everyone he met. Some of them he knew and there were those that he actually did like, although none of them were true friends, those he made on the battlefield as to him only a true friend was someone he could count on to watch his back. They were good people but he knew that they would fold under pressure.

He made charming talk with the many beautiful women that tried to get his attention and yes they were indeed beautiful and in all manners of shapes and sizes but they were only beautiful on the surface. Some of them he knew were very shallow, or only wanted him for his money or for other vain reasons. There were the select few that actually did want to get to know him and find the real Bruce Wayne, those he dated for a bit judging them to see if they could handle the real him. But in the end he was always disappointed and he ended things on a good note with them.

It was talking with someone that he felt someone walk up behind him, "Ah Mr. Wayne it's so good to see you again."

He stopped his surprise at that voice he knew that voice, the perfume was different but he knew that voice all the same. He turned around and he wasn't sure what to do because standing in front of him was Diana but not the Diana he knew. This Diana had on an elegant but yet simple dress that didn't show off too much and yet everyone could notice her beauty, her hair was done up high into a bun and she had on of all thin classes.

"Ah, yes Miss..."

"Prince, Diana Prince we met once before in fact I believe you still owe me a dance from that night," Diana smiled at him seeing in his eyes both anger, confusion, a little happiness and something else. He looked at her with a small look that made her cheeks feel slightly flushed and she liked that feeling.

**Next up Chapter 22; Meet Diana Prince**


	22. Meet Diana Prince

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 22: Meet Diana Prince**

"Well Mr. Wayne?" Diana Prince asked.

Bruce looked at her and was wondering what her game was, sure she had changed her clothing to try and hide herself and yet still retain her beauty with an elegant and subtle ways with how she was dressed, her hair was done up in a bun and the black glasses which he was sure weren't real did change her from the powerful hero known to the world into an attractive socialite but he wasn't fooled for a second. She had taken off her arm bands which actually surprised him that she would do that, she went everywhere with them but then again that was something people looked for in Wonder Woman as well.

She was trying to carry herself off as normal but he could see the gestures and the posture of someone trained to fight for years showing through but then again she didn't have the practice that he had to keep both styles hidden from the world. Whatever Diana had planned he was wondering why of all places to show it here. He wanted to scowl but he didn't it wouldn't fit his 'image', so instead he smiled charmingly at her and went with her little game, at least for now.

"Ah yes I remember now, it's been awhile, so what brings you to Gotham?" Bruce asked.

She smiled at him in a way that he bet she practiced in a mirror for this, "Oh I'm here on business as you know I work at the United Nations and I'm here currently working with the Themysciran embassy now."

'Ah so you can work there under the name of Prince and it would mean that wherever Wonder Woman goes or needs to go 'Miss Prince' can just tag along as well,' He thought to himself and decided to test this little game of hers a bit more.

"Ah so you're working under Wonder Woman now, although I must admit you have a good resemblance to her in some ways." He said wondering what her reaction would be and he saw a few people who were interested in this new woman were looking at her wondering if she did look like the hero.

Diana surprised him yet again with a laugh, "She's said the same to me once when I let my hair down, thank god she doesn't need a body double but I'm not an exact look, for one thing I'm blind as a bat without my glasses."

"I'm going to have to say she's right," spoke up a man to Bruce's left that he forgot what his name was, something that rhymed with Jerry he thought. "She's a bit shorter I think than Wonder Woman and not as curvy I think."

There were a few other sentiments thrown in, a few like she wasn't as pretty as Wonder Woman, or she didn't look as slim, and other little things. One said her nose was a bit bigger and Bruce was looking closely at Diana for her reactions, on the surface she was laughing it off but her eyes were a different story. He could see it in her eyes always, she went from being close to laughing to outright being offended but she remained in character.

Finally he thought that she deserved a break and decided to steal her away for a moment, "Well Miss Prince I think I still owe you a dance like you said."

She graciously gave out her hands as he took it and led her to the dance floor, he placed his hands on her shoulder and hip as they started to dance slowly to the music.

She leaned in a bit to whisper into his ear, "What was that all about?"

"That's my line, why are you here and going under the name of Prince of all things? Isn't that kind of a male name for a woman who champions feminist ideals?"

"It's empowering woman that me and my sisters do and what better name to pick? Who would suspect me of all people choosing a male last name?"

He had to admit that did that made some sense and it looked like people wouldn't look underneath the illusion of Miss Prince, but then he knew that people saw what they wanted to see and nothing else. As they danced he tried to not think how good it felt feeling her pressed up against him like this, the small of her perfume was enchanting and she was very warm to the touch.

"So will you tell me what this whole thing is about?" he asked her.

She smirked even though she knew that he couldn't see it, "You said that if there was a way for us to date with you as both Bruce Wayne and Batman without causing any trouble that you'd do it. Well I called you on it, as Wonder Woman I can see Batman and as Diana Prince I can see Bruce Wayne."

Bruce wasn't sure if he was angry that she had found a way around his challenge or impressed that she had come up with something that he thought she wouldn't have done. Although he didn't like it that she managed to find a loophole in his reasoning and there were other reasons that were a bit personal as to why he didn't want to date her. Every time he thought that maybe he had found someone it had ended in disappointment and heartbreak for him and he didn't want to go through that again.

Diana was just enjoying the moment, she had to admit that Bruce was a very good dancer and the fact that she could feel him pressed up against her was very nice. His suit that he wore hid just how athletic he was but she could feel the muscles through it.

"So whose idea was the glasses?" Bruce asked her trying to change the subject and to try and ignore how certain parts of her were pressed up against him.

"Who do you think?" She smirked at him.

"Clark," he half sighed and half growled, he should have known that he would have a hand in all of this. Most likely he could think of a handful of other people that had helped her to set this up, it was a short list and when he found out all the guilty parties there would be retribution for them as well.

"So?"

"So what?" He asked.

"Bruce you know what, I found a way and now you have to hold up your end of the bargain." He acted innocent when he said that he had no idea that what they had was a bargain, which of course made her a bit angry that he was trying to once again avoid things but she wasn't going to back down this time. She had put too much work and effort into this and she was not going away empty handed.

"Bruce I don't beg so don't expect me to here, I may care for you a great deal but in no way will I submit myself to that. But you owe it to me to keep your word and I trusted you to keep it."

He tried not to wince at that, knowing that she was going for his pride and his honor something that he took a great deal of focus on.

"Look can't we at least try? I mean if the worst happens that people find out that Miss Prince and Wonder Woman are the same person you can always play the victim that you never knew, hell I'll even state that myself if that's what your worried about."

"It's not," at least to him that wasn't all that was bothering him about it, "our lives are dangerous and you know that one of us could get hurt."

It was then that she felt that she knew where some of his inability to have stable relationships come from, she should have known given what she had looked up about his past. When she had first found out that Bruce and Batman were the same man she looked up Bruce's past to see what could cause a man to turn into something like he had become. When she got to his parents she had been horrified to see what had happened to him. To see your own parents murdered right in front of you as a child was something she couldn't begin to understand.

"Bruce," she said softly to him, "you won't lose me. In case you forgot unlike you I'm nearly bullet proof, I've been shot with energy weapons that would kill a normal human and had been hit by forces that would shatter bones and still fight on. In fact you're the one I should be afraid of losing but you know something I'm not, and you know why?"

He looked at her wondering himself why and she looked at him with a small smile on her lips, "Because I trust you and I believe in you."

It was then that he actually didn't know what to say to something like that, women had said many things to him but none of them had ever said that they trusted him or that they believed in him. He felt like he was being pulled in two directions the part of him that said that this was a bad move that the Mission came first but there was another part that longed for human contact. The small child that had been so alone all his life and wanted to feel the light and warmth of being cared for again.

Then all of a sudden a voice that sounded a lot like Peter Parker's entered into his mind, _"You're scared aren't you? You're afraid of being hurt."_

He remembered how that one time back when Peter and him had an argument about how relationships in their line of work only ending up hurting you. He knew Peter's story, the kid lost so many people and one of them was most likely the love of his life. He had loved and lost in the most horrible way and yet somehow Peter found the courage and strength to go on and to try and love again. And looking at Peter and Kara and how happy they were made him pause for a moment.

Peter was younger than him, but had seen and done a lot, maybe too much in his young life and yet the boy never let the darkness of life consume him, he always tried to keep himself from slipping into darkness.

"Bruce are you okay?" Diana asked when he stopped dancing and she wished she knew what was going on in that head of his.

Bruce looked down at Diana and he didn't see Diana Prince, or Wonder Woman, or the Princess of some island. All he saw was his friend, someone that he had grown to care for and maybe he was scared of losing another person that he cared for and for another relationship ending in his heart breaking. But he never liked being afraid, he had been afraid of bats when he fell into the cave and he used that fear. Maybe it was time to conquer another fear.

He gave her a small smile and she could see that this wasn't the fake smile that he used this was his real smile and she felt warm inside seeing this, she hadn't seen this smile of his and she hoped that maybe there was a chance for them.

"Tell me do you like Italian?" He asked.

She smirked knowing that he already most likely knew all her favourite foods. "Of course why do you ask?"

"Because I know this great restaurant if you want to go."

"Oh and what about the party?" she asked him coyly.

"I think I found something more important that I'd rather be doing, taking someone out to dinner like yourself." He stopped dancing with her and gave out his arm. She smiled at him and took it as they walked towards the exit, a few asked Bruce where he was going but he just ignored them he had something better that he would much rather focus on.

**-Elsewhere-**

If there was one thing Peter hated it was boredom, well that and getting his ass kicked that was never fun too. But this was definitely in his top ten of things he hated, there was also having your body switched with a chain smoking asshole (she still never totally forgave Jean for switching his mind with Logan that time even though it was years ago), another was dealing with crap like being blamed for stuff he never did thankfully the people in this world seemed to appreciate his hard work. Various other things like bullies, villains with lame names/powers/puns was another thing.

But with the other things he could at least do something about, boredom was another animal all together.

"Damn it something better happen soon or I'm going to have some strong words with J'onn about this," Peter muttered to himself.

"He's usually right," said the voice next to him. Peter looked to his right at the upside down face of David Longshadow the Native American hero he had actually saved from genetic problem that had been slowly killing him. They had become good friends over the month and Peter had let him in on his secret it was getting easier to tell other heroes who he really was and at least he had a choice. Most heroes back in his world knew him anyway but mostly it hadn't been by his choice.

Peter who was hanging upside down on a web line while the other young man was sitting on a ledge of a building, looked across the street. There was just a simple looking building, it was some type of department store of all things one of those that took up a whole building with three floors. It was one of those things that was operated by a private owner and not one of those companies that own a chain of stores.

It was also supposed to be a front for a weapons smuggling but Peter had his doubts, a department store being a front for a black market guns? Sure he'd seen a lot of weird stuff, aliens, robots, magic and other things. This wasn't even the first alternate reality he had been to, although given that Fury tried to kill an entire alternate Earth just because it was a possible threat and used Reed Richards to do it was the reason he never told Fury where the hell he was. He still had no idea how Fury managed to get out of life imprisonment in that other world, got back and was put back in charge of SHIELD. Sure he was an asshole and you couldn't trust the guy but...damn he lost his point.

Maybe Carol Danvers had been a better person to be in charge of SHIELD after all even if she did screw up a lot to Peter's point of view, she even fell for Norman and Harry being 'dead' when their bodies just went into this deep hibernation thing to heal. Man that had been one hell of a day he got his best friend back and his worst enemy. His thoughts went back to the day that made him want to live in this world, he remembered all the pain, the anger, the fury, the wanting to die just to end his never ending hell.

He quickly shook his head, _'Don't go there Parker, you spent nearly a year getting over this and now it not the time to go down that again. God I hate this, some days it's just so hard to keep focus. How the hell do people like Bruce do it?'_

'_Okay just think about something else something nice and not the worst day of your life...come one think of something like, like Kara. Yeah that's it, think of her smile of her voice, the way her hair smells...how smooth her skin is...how soft her lips are...how tight that costume is...of what happened three nights ago in bed with-damn it don't go there!'_

He was trying not to remember mainly due to the fact he didn't want to go into action with a boner, superhero costumes didn't leave much to the imagination and he wondered how guys managed to avoid those types of embarrassing moments. It didn't help with female villains that wore revealing clothing a lot of the time either.

"Hey you okay?" David asked him.

"Huh? Oh yeah sure just trying to remember the lyrics for Star Trek, it's been bugging me all day." Peter told him, "So what's up, anything new to report in the life of Longshadow?"

"Well, not much I mean I'm making a life for myself but it's just that something seems to be missing..."

"Get a girlfriend that should help, that or a dog."

"What?"

Peter shrugged, "Yeah they both got good points, they can welcome you home, someone that's happy to see you and gives you love and affection although two different types. Well unless you're one of those types that really likes animals, but you don't seem to be the lonely farmer in the middle of a certain state that by law I will not name."

"But personally I'd go with the girlfriend route at least you don't have to take a girlfriend for walks and stuff...unless she's kinky."

"Okay stop please," David said pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Thank god I had no idea where I was going with that and it was scaring me, I think I've been upside down a bit too long." Peter looked 'down' at the sky and wondered if staying upside down for long periods of time for him could explain a few of his unique personality quirks.

"At any rate I'm...Well I'm not good with girls..." David admitted.

"And you think I am!? Dude I was the geek in school that got picked on and beaten up all the damn time," Peter told him, "But I still managed to have two hot girlfriends, and now I got a hot blonde _alien_ chick for a girlfriend. I'm living every geeks' wet dream, and look at me."

"Sure I got the muscles but I'm slim and I wear a mask most of the time. You got muscles that look like they came from superman and good looks, trust me a lot of girls would like you and the nice guy things works trust me on that one."

David blushed a bit scratching the back of his head, "Well...there is someone but I don't know how she feels..."

"Oy, been there and I hate that. I got burned before MJ but trust me you never know until you try and-wait a moment." He looked down and saw a large black van pulling up into a side alley and stopped at the side entrance. They watched as men got out and pulled out crates, large ones with no markings that he could see.

"Huh, since when do they deliver at night when no one is around?" Spider-Man asked sarcastically.

Longshadow got up from his spot, "Don't know why don't we go and ask them?"

"Oh I like that, can I be bad cop? I love being bad cop and when I'm with Batman he never lets me be the bad cop."

**-New York-**

Diana made it to her home very late, she had flown from Gotham to New York after her fist date with Bruce and she had to admit it had been very nice. They had talked mostly and she felt that she had learned a bit more about him. He was knew a lot about the world and he had asked her questions about her people and it was nice to see him taking an interests in her culture, even though she suspected he was also filing away any important information for later use just in case. She never knew that Bruce had a large interest in things such as Japanese culture, she would look up a few things later that he had told her about his time in Japan.

She had always wondered where he learned to fight and apparently the master he had learned from was descended of some type of warrior cast known as the Samurai, she knew only a bit about Japan but if he was so interested in that she wanted to know a bit more herself, besides a few things he talked about caught her interests.

She landed on the balcony of her large apartment that was for her at the Embassy that had been set up, no one outside her friends and family had access to this floor which was nice to have a place all her own. She slipped out of the high hell shoes and pulled her hair free letting it tumble down, she then took off the fake glasses and set them down.

"Diana is that you?" her sister's voice called out and Diana guessed that Donna was back from her new job or at least what might be her new line of work when not a hero.

Diana saw her younger sister walk in wearing a large shirt and nothing much else and by the looks had been ready for bed when she walked in. She took a chair and relaxed into it. Donna looked at her sister and lifted an eyebrow knowing something was up. A slow smile started to spread over her face at the happy look on her older sister.

"So you finally did it?"

Diana gave a small laugh. "Yes, Bruce and I did go out," she omitted the word finally as she wanted to say that but decided not to, "we had a very great dinner and talked."

"That's it?" Donna had been hoping for a little more than that.

"This is my first relationship with a man and I don't want to rush into things Donna."

"True, given how long it took for you two to get in at least one date," Donna laughed and then ducked a thrown pillow.

"At any rate, with this new identity it will be much easier to date. I don't know why I never thought of this before hand," Diana said stretching out. "I mean I can have a life as just Diana and not have to worry about people seeing me as Wonder Woman for a change. Now I see why so many heroes have an alternate identity."

Donna nodded her head she could see it, at work people kept being nervous around her and it got old real fast.

"So how was work today?" Diana asked her sister.

Donna shrugged, "It was okay, some trouble with the models who apparently hated each other for some reason, then someone dropped a camera smashing it and we had to retake the entire shot all over again. But I met some new faces and over all it was pretty good."

"It's nice to see you enjoying your new work," Diana smiled and got up. "But it's late and I need to change and I got two meetings in the morning."

"Sure," Donna said turning around and leaving for her room but she stopped and smirked over her shoulder, "But just to let you know we are not done talking with this new relationship of yours yet sister."

Diana sighed and she knew that had been coming, she just nodded her head and left for her own room feeling like tomorrow would be a very long day for her.

**Next up Chapter 23: A day in the life of a Clone**


	23. A Day in the Life of a Clone

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 23: A day in the life of a Clone**

Galatea was in her room thinking, it wasn't much of a room really. It was nice though she supposed but then again she hadn't known much other than what she could recall from Kara's memories. She wouldn't mind some color and other things it was just so plain and dull to her after her link with the girl. Maybe it was because she had got a glance at what the real world and a real life was like. But it wasn't her room that was on her mind it was something else, or more likely something inside of her that she had been feeling.

It all started with that brat Superboy and his teasing; she wasn't sure why but every time he made some comment about her and Kaine she felt strange. Her cheeks would heat up and she would feel embarrassed, that was something she never felt before and she wanted to punch the little creep into the ground. But lately as she starting to interact with her new team she had been aware that she and Kaine did spend a lot of time with each other but that was only natural.

Hell he was the first friend she ever had, he was so much like her and yet he was so much different as well. In the past few months things had slowly changed as they all got used to their new lives as a team. He seemed less repressed and more outgoing he smiled more and seemed to feel like he had found a place in the world, truth was she felt the same. She felt like she belonged for the first time ever and it was so nice to feel that way.

Sure her teammates could be a bit annoying at times the Martian girl kept asking so many questions that it got on her nerves, Guardian was so old fashioned, Power Boy wasn't too bad at the moment, Superboy she wanted to kill it was like he was the 'annoying little brother' of the group. Hawkwoman was the only person she could talk to woman to woman really, and they had formed a closed friendship. The others weren't too bad but Kaine was always different, he always stuck out on her mind.

She tossed on her bed trying to figure out why she was feeling this way, yes she was close to him but was there more to it? She didn't have any experience in this and she honestly wasn't sure what to do but she was drawn to him, but was it only just because he was the first person to understand her or was there more to it than that, was there something deeper at work or was she just fooling herself. That would be just her luck to fool herself into thinking that she could be like an ordinary woman and have the ability to do what normal people could do. But she knew that her life would never be normal so why should she even bother to try, what was the point of it all.

And yet she couldn't stop the feelings that had been growing inside of her ever since that first day she met him, yes she was certain that was when it started. She had been so desperate to find someone that would understand her and relate to her so that she wasn't alone in the word anymore and she could see that same longing in Kaine's eyes as well. She had shared things with him that she had never even voiced to her own 'father' and she liked talking to him. He would share the memories he had of the original and she liked to hear those stories because he at least had the memories of a life unlike her who only had bits and pieces from when she and Kara were linked.

She sighed and looked back at the plain and boring ceiling feeling as though there should be something on the walls or pictures or some type of personal touch to it. But that was just a ghostly sensation from her time linked with Kara she was certain of that.

'Why, why do I feel this way?' she asked herself, 'why do I find myself thinking about him more and more and why do I feel other things. This longing for his looks at me, his small smile towards me makes me feel happy, and why do I feel so warm whenever he touches me?'

A simple gesture like a handshake or a time when they had been walking after a training exercise his hand had gone to her lower back as they talked and she had liked it. She wanted that and so much more and it was driving her insane, she had nothing to draw experience from and she wasn't sure what to do about it. Plus there were other reasons for her to worry, if she was attracted to him would he be the same to her?

Galatea wasn't sure but a rejection would most likely hurt more than that fight she had with Kara, plus there was another reason and that was would they even be allowed to form any type of relationship inside of Cadmus. Would they tell them to stop and what if she and Kaine refused, she held no allusions that if they became a problem they would be dealt with. She rolled onto her stomach and buried her face into her pillow and screamed.

After she was done with that she felt that she needed to think and one of the best ways was to exercise maybe she could take her frustrations out on something as well.

While Galatea was getting ready someone else had a similar idea as well, and Kaine was already in the gym alone as he was at a workout station working with a weight bar. He was on his back pushing the large weights up and down. He was growing strong here in Cadmus and he was sure that he would be getting stronger than Peter would that was for sure. Already he was starting to develop more muscles and thanks to Guardian's training he was getting more combat experience as well.

He focused himself on his work because it made ignoring the random memories that weren't his to show up. He was haunted by images of past battles, past loves and past losses that weren't even his own. He wanted to make his own life and bury that part of himself away, he had grown more serious than Peter but he had reason to be. He wasn't some kid anymore, his body was older and so he figured he would act a bit older.

But lately he had been falling into old habits again, cracking jokes with Superboy from time to time or his usual sarcastic comments, nowhere near where he remembered Peter being before that night that changed his life forever.

Kaine figured it was because of the team he was on; they were all pretty much in the same boat as him, making him feel more comfortable around them. He wasn't so alone in the world with them around and he was starting to form those familiar bonds that he remembered only now they were his own. He was forming his own friends, his own bonds and his own family. In a way he could see them all as a family, Superboy was the 'little brother' type down to a T, while M'gann was the 'little sister' of the group. She was so innocent it was like you just wanted to protect her. Powerboy was a bit odd, kind of like that cousin you know but don't really know much about him but he seemed like his heart was in the right place. Guardian was the father figure for them all, for Kaine memories of Ben Parker kept showing up around the man and maybe that was why he trusted Guardian so much, because the part of him that came from Peter Parker trusted someone like that.

Kendra and Zoloman were like the aunt and uncle of the bunch, although Kendra was warmer than Zoloman there was something about that man that made Kaine twitch. He couldn't place a finger on it but he felt something off about the super speed demon. Maybe it was just nerves or something but he tried to ignore it, just like he had been trying to ignore the last member of his team.

Galatea, that was something that had surprised him one day when he had caught himself staring at her while talking with Kendra. He knew that stare and the feelings he was having for her, he remembered how Peter felt that same way at the start with Mary Jane and Kitty Pryde and he wasn't sure he wanted to go down that route. Peter had been hurt that way a few times and so it made Kaine uneasy to think of any romantic relationships.

Hell he had spent so long trying not to think about people from Peter's past that he had let himself slip and open up to the beautiful blonde and she was sure beautiful. He put the bar up on its resting position before he lost his concentration too much and it came crashing down onto his chest, that was an injury report he wanted to avoid what was he going to write 'chest crushed from thinking about a girl?', yeah that would have gone over oh so well.

He got up and started to wipe off the sweat from his face with a towel he had and heard the doors opened, he sighed wondering who was entering this room and looked up and cursed his luck or lack of in his case as Galatea walked in. She was dressed in a wife beater with sweatpants and of course they didn't hide the figure she had on.

'Damn it why can't I just get one break and why the hell does she have to dress like that, oh who am I kidding she can make wearing a garbage bag look sexy,' he thought.

She was just as surprised to see him as well and she had the same reaction as he did, she thought about turning around but couldn't think of a way that would go without being suspicious and just went with it.

"Working hard?" She asked him.

He gave a small smile, "Yeah got to keep in shape I may have super strength but that doesn't mean I can't get stronger. What about you Tea, didn't think you would be down here at this time."

She shrugged as she started to do warm up stretching, "Not much else to do and I felt like I needed to work something out of me."

Kaine nodded his head he knew just what she meant as he tried not to look at her too closely when she was stretching herself out and something got his attention, "Hey I didn't know you needed to stretch, I mean with your kind of power I thought you wouldn't need to do anything like that."

"You'd think that," Galatea muttered to herself, "I found out the hard way that just because you're really strong you still have limitations. Muscles can still get worn out from doing the same motion many times and the joints can still get tired as well and I can still over stretch myself as well. It takes a lot longer for me to suffer from something like that than a normal person but it still happens. Doesn't the same happen to you?"

Kaine hadn't thought about that and she was right, he was really agile but if he pulled the same moves over and over it he would get sore the next day. He just never thought that people with her level of strength had to deal with it since it was much easier for them but this just only proves that you can just never assume you know something.

"Well I see your point with that, I still feel some soreness from the last hand to hand combat class."

"You did pretty good in that for someone with no experience in being trained to fight," she commented.

"Thanks although I still could use more practice before I go into the field. I don't want to make the same mistakes 'he' made in his life with not bothering to learn something that could save you some pain and injuries later on." He said in a slightly darker tone referring to Peter.

She nodded her head she understood where he was coming from as it really was hard to constantly be reminded that you were comparing yourself with something else most of the time. She thought of an idea and walked over to one of the larger areas where there were mats on the ground.

"Well if it's practice you need why don't I help out with that?"

Kaine raised one of his eyebrows, "Didn't you want to come down here to work out some frustrations or something? No offence but you could turn me into paste."

She placed her hands on her hips slightly annoyed, "It's just a friendly offer Kaine and I won't go all out. You said you needed help and I'm offering I have more experience and more training and I could help to polish your moves off a bit."

Kaine did need the practice and she did make a point plus she looked kind of mad or offended by his rejection, he wasn't sure which but he didn't want her pissed at him for several reasons. In the end he decided that he did need the practice and he shouldn't be afraid of her hurting him, he trusted her the most out of anyone in the entire world. They squared off in the ring as they loosened up and got into fighting stances that they had been taught and started a slow dance as they tried to feel the other out. They just studied each other at first, making small feints to try and draw the other out but neither one was falling for it.

Eventually they started up with slow and controlled punches and kicks, letting the other dodge and counter them. As they continued to work they started to get more comfortable and then started to let loose a bit more. They threw their blows faster and a bit harder when they saw the other would block it. Then they started to throw in grapple moves, throwing the other onto the mat or into joint locks and then breaking out of them.

They continued on for over an hour and sweat was starting to build up as the adrenaline was starting to pump in them exciting them to their little 'dance' as their previous thoughts were left behind. They weren't thinking anymore they were acting out of instinct and muscle memory to the movements. Eventually Kaine was put into a hold and quickly reversed and they both started to fall onto the mat together.

Galatea didn't know what happened first she thought she had the upper hand and the next thing she felt herself being thrown to the ground and dragged Kaine with her, they landed with her on her back and him on top both of them breathing a little hard and fully aware of just how close they were together and how they were pressing up against the other but neither one made a move. They locked eyes and blue ones met brown and there seemed to be a silent communication between them both. Their eyes spoke volumes to the other they spoke of being so alone in the world and wanting someone there to fill a void in it.

They needed to feel something in life to make them truly feel like they were actually alive and living beings. There was the desire that had been building up for months now between them as the bonds of friendship gave way to something deeper and more meaningful. For Kaine it had been so long since he had felt this, and what he remembered wasn't even his. He wanted to feel what Peter had felt those times in the past just for himself just this once. For Tea she wanted to feel like a real woman for once, she wanted to feel the passion that she had never got the chance for.

She felt the heat building up in her the need and want for something, something that she couldn't quit understand as it was deeply primal something that went beyond Kara, it was engrained deep in her DNA that spoke to her. They didn't know how long they were like that and they didn't know who started it but the next thing Galatea knew his lips were pressed against hers. She was shocked by the sensation of it, at first she gripped his shoulders to push him off but she stopped herself as she started to enjoy the strange sensations.

Kaine didn't know what the hell got into him but he wasn't questioning it, her lips were so soft and full and he lost himself in it. The sensations brought up old memories but he pushed them away, he didn't want to share this moment with other memories he wanted this to be his and only his own memory one that he wanted to burn into his mind. He felt alive for the first time in a long time, truly alive that is.

Galatea heard a moan escape her lips and her hands started to move almost as if they had a mind of their own pulling him closer to her and the passion she was feeling was totally alien to her and yet so familiar. It was amazing and she didn't want it to stop she wanted more and more as she started to drown in the new sensations. Both of them didn't say anything there was nothing to be said, nothing that had to be said as their actions did all the talking.

Soon the kissing became more and more passionate, Kaine started to kiss her neck and she never knew her neck was so sensitive to kisses, her fingers dug into his long hair as she gasped in pleasure, soon hands started to move and explore and soon clothing gave way and were scattered. They were so caught up in the moment neither one of them knew the outside world even existed in this room and in this time it was just them. Both of them exploring new sensations and for the first time in their short lives they felt like real people, like a real man and woman and the past didn't matter to them anymore.

In that one moment they weren't just clones, they weren't an alien or a human they weren't teammates they were just a simple man and woman taking advantage of the moment to feel what every couple since the beginning of time felt.

**-Cadmus Lab-**

In another part of the facility in a lab Doctor Octopus was working away, he was aware of the security camera that was on him all the time but he was still working, but there was another thing he was working on as well and that was his escape plan. Although while under the cover of working he had been pocketing certain pieces here and there and assembling them in secret, nothing grand but just some tools that he needed to have and to make everyone think that he didn't have them.

If he had tools that could be used for any type of escape or trouble he was watched more closely, but he was patient after all he had been in and out of jails for years he knew how to buy your time and wait for the right moment and to plan and to prepare. He was grinning at the image on his computer, although he blocked it there was a small window of a small hack into the security systems. It was mainly just a backdoor he had been spending months writing into the system that just allowed him access to certain areas.

At the moment he was watching with interests Kaine and Galatea's little moment, there was no sound but he had to admit they seemed to enjoy it. That only made him grin as it would keep Kaine busy and less focused and gave a way for him to control him. He hadn't met the clone in person for a very valid reason and that was because he didn't feel like getting his face punched in. He leaned back as the two clones started to gather their clothing and were acting like teenage sweethearts after their first time.

He clicked a key and the other clones showed up one by one, he wondered if Waller knew just what type of 'help' he had put into their subliminal programming, nothing major just a few key phrases that could make them do whatever he asked of them but the time wasn't right for that card to play yet, he wanted a backup in case they caught that and had taken it out and Waller had only let him think that they had the hidden programming.

Waller was a very intelligent and dangerous woman and in another time and place he might have considered her a worthy woman of his attention but he first had other plans and that was to escape. But first he had to wait until they relaxed just enough for him to make his move and then he would surprise them all. He looked at another screen that he was bringing up onto his computer as a report on a nanite project that was a work in progress. He had been giving e-mails to help with the finer points of the machinery and they seemed grateful for the help, he had even managed to talk them into sharing a few of the files so he could help even further, after all they were just one big happy Cadmus family.

But escape was only just one plan of his, first he had to make plans for when he got out as he knew that both Peter and his friends would be looking for him just as Waller would. He would have to be ready to throw them off track and to also lay low until he was ready to return. The only problem was the world knew him now and he couldn't just blend in like he had when he first arrived, that was the problem that he was having trouble getting around.

At any rate he had lots of time to figure that part of the escape out, and in the mean time he had work to do. Cadmus wasn't so bad actually if you overlooked the imprisoned part of it, he got to play with enough advance research and devices that he couldn't find anywhere else and it would only be a good investment to study as much as he could before he decided to leave after all.

**Next up chapter 24: Family Troubles **


	24. Family Troubles

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 24: Family Troubles **

Bruce Wayne was just finishing some work in the batcave when he felt that he needed a break, his concentration was wavering and he needed to be clear headed in order to do his job. He had long ago forgot about the time which was why he was glad he had Alfred to keep him from missing every single appointment he had in fact he was sure that without Alfred by his side his life would be a lot harder but then again Alfred was many things than just a butler.

He was his oldest friend, surrogate father, his medic, his confidant, the one person he could trust in this world without hesitation. He never once wanted Alfred out of his life because he was such a large part of it. Bruce pulled away the cowl as he rubbed his eyes starting to feel a bit tired, he had a meeting in the morning and he felt that he needed to get enough sleep to stay awake during it. He saved his work and was taking off his suit when he heard the sound of the elevator coming down, he cast a look and there he was Alfred looking his usual self, uniform was always prim and proper and looking at him you'd never know that he had once worked in British Military Intelligence earlier in his life.

"Ah Master Wayne there is a visitor waiting for you in the sitting room," Alfred said to him in his familiar British accent.

Bruce was wondering who it would be since he knew that Alfred would never let someone in at this hour unless it was important, "Who is it Alfred?"

"A Miss Diana."

"Diana? Did she say why she was here?" He got up a bit faster wondering why she was coming here of all places at this hour, if it was really urgent then she would have gone right to the cave in costume but to come to him and wait for him, something didn't add up and he was wondering what was going on.

Alfred shook his head and told him that she didn't say although he did add in that she looked a little rough around the edges like something was bothering her. Bruce nodded and asked for him to bring a tea set while he dressed into some more civilian clothing. He nodded and went on his way leaving Bruce wondering just what it was that could rattle Diana of all people. He finished changing and made his way to the sitting room, it was a large furnished room with a fireplace that was going by the time he got there.

He saw Diana sitting there with a half drank tea cup, she was in jeans and a simple sweater and was looking at the portrait of his father and mother above the fireplace. He was about to ask her what was going on when she suddenly asked him a question that even threw him off.

"Bruce do you think you knew your family?" she asked him.

He paused for a second trying to think of what brought this one, thinking maybe it had to do with either her sister or mother. "I like to think I do."

"What if you learned something new about your family that was...unsettling? That you learned that a secret had been kept from you all this time and now it makes you question your very origins and what kind of person you are?"

Bruce didn't like not knowing all the facts and this line of questioning was slowly going into a direction he didn't like, he never questioned what types of people his parents were he knew that they were good, kind and honest people. "Diana what is going on here?"

Diana sighed and motioned for him to sit next to her on the couch and he did, she looked into the fireplace as she recounted the events that brought her here. She told him how it had all started when she had been in her quarters on the Tower with her sister when they got a visitor that neither of them expected.

Diana was in her quarters with her younger sister they had both just finished up an assignment and were comparing notes before they decided to knock off for the rest of the day and spent some time in New York together.

"Are you telling me that you had to deal with that woman Volcana with Captain Cold? I never thought those two would ever work together," Diana shook her head in amusement.

Donna smiled back at her, "it wasn't so much a big deal they were mostly fighting each other anyway, in fact they hit each other with a fire and ice blast and both of them were pretty much out of it at that point I was mainly just cleaning up."

"I wish some battles could be won that easily sometimes," Diana said.

Her sister gave her an odd look, "Now where's the challenge in that? I mean we're warriors and we shouldn't look for the easy battles."

Diana paused and nodded her head, "True, although the easy one here and there wouldn't be so bad because battles grand forces all the time can be so draining on you."

"Well too bad you said that cause I got a big one for you Princess," a new voice said in the room. Both Amazons turned around quickly to see who the intruder was but stopped when they saw the familiar figure of Hermes the messenger of the Olympian gods.

"Hermes!? What are you doing here?" Donna asked the god.

"Why else would I appear? I'm the messenger god remember so I got a message from the big man himself, seems there is some trouble in Tartarus. The Balance is getting all screwed up and at this rate well, let's just say we don't want to see the Earth swarmed by the dead and all the other nasty things they got down there." The god told them with a grin.

"So why us?" Diana asked him.

"The usual reasons why we ask mortals to do these things," he said elusively and then gave her a bit more of a serious look, "But there is added insentive for you Diana. See we know that you've been trying to work your way back into the little sisterhood of yours and if you do this then Artemis and Hera have both agreed that you will be reinstated."

"You mean she can go home again?" Donna asked overjoyed at the news and Diana was actually holding her breath a bit.

"I just said so didn't I? Man you mortals are so slow sometimes," He shook his head, "anyway you go to Tartarus and fix whatever is going on down there that Hades can't seem to keep control over and you're back in. Simple as that, and if I were you I'd get a move on because the clock is ticking."

With that the god was gone and that left both Diana and Donna little time to plan things out, Diana needed something first before they left though and had gone into Shayera's room in order to borrow her mace, although the Thanagarian caught her in the act the other woman did agree to let her use the mace as long as she came along. Diana was still uncertain about her, but she didn't have time to argue as now the three of them made their way to hell.

Bruce listened to how Diana told her about meeting her mother and apparently unlocking certain gifts that her armor had held all this time without her knowing it. He listened to how they had fought their way into Hades' domain and freed him from apparently the work of Faust who had somehow came back to try and rule over Tartarus. She went over the battling and defeating of Faust but what Bruce found out that bothered her the most was the claim that Hades had made that he was in fact her father that he had helped sculpt the clay figures of Diana and Donna.

Diana knew of the relationship that her mother had with the god of the underworld but to be her father of all things was a bit much and she didn't want to believe it. He went on to say how Diana and Donna were supposed to be twin girls but their mother wasn't sure about having two daughters and had only brought Diana to life at first. It would be years later that she would bring Donna to life who had been kept in a mystical suspension all that time so her body would remain perfect over the years.

Diana saw how upset that made Donna and when they returned to her home they had sought out their mother, she had been a bit evasive about it and told them not to think too much of it but it was still nagging on her. Donna had been very quiet on the ride back and she was worried for her sister as she had left as soon as they reached the Tower.

Bruce listened to the whole story and he had to admit that he could see why she seemed a bit lost to him. After a long wait he finally found the words to say to her, "So what?"

To say that Diana was shocked was an understatement, her mouth was hanging open in pure shock at his words. She had been expecting some kind of kind words from him or something to sooth her not something like 'so what' as a response to her baring her soul to him like that. In fact she was quickly getting over her surprise and was moving in to anger at the moment.

Bruce saw that flash in her eyes that he usually saw before she started hitting something and calmly explained his answer to her. "So you learned that your father might be Hades, a few things about your family that you didn't know so what? Does that change the person you were up until that moment or does this mean that everything you've done in the past few years has never happened?"

"It's not who your parents are that define you only the things they did for you and it sounds like the only thing Hades ever did was help give you life other than that he has done nothing for you or your life. You are who you are because of your own choices and actions. So in the end even if he is your father it changes nothing about you."

Diana just sat there and listened to him, he made it seem so easy and so simple. It was true that she was still Diana and champion of her people, she was still an Amazon and a hero and what she had learned had changed nothing at all. She felt a little silly at the moment at how he had just pushed all her fears and doubts away like that as if they were nothing and in a way they were nothing. She realized that this was another reason why she had grown to care for him so much, he was always so focused and clear thinking.

His mind was unique like none other and she always respected his skills and abilities.

She looked down feeling so foolish to trouble him with this, "I'm sorry you're right I guess I just, I just wasn't thinking clearly."

He gave her a small smile one of his true smiles to her and she felt a bit better for some strange reason. He gently placed one of his hands on hers, "Anytime."

She smiled a little and leaned a bit closer to him and looked up at his family, "You never talk about your family, what were they like Bruce?"

He looked up at the painting and thought back to his memories of them, "They were my world my mother was so kind and had such a gentle heart. I still remember when I fell and scrapped one of my knees and she picked me up and was so caring as she fixed me up and held me the entire time. My father was a great man, he tried so hard to help people as a doctor and with his company that he helped to build."

"He was my hero when I was a child and I wanted to be so much like him and make him proud of me..." he trailed off as he felt that hole in his life again. He would never know how his parents would think of his choices in life and his actions as Batman. Would they honestly be proud of what he did in life or ashamed of his actions as he knew that he had to do some dirty things in his line of work and at times be a bit ruthless doing things he knew his father wouldn't approve of.

Diana could sense the change in his mood and decided to change the subject, "You think they would have liked me Bruce?"

He smiled again as an arm moves around her waist pulling her a little closer, "I know they would my mother would be delighted to meet you and I'm sure my father would approve of the type of person you were, you're the type of person he respected in life."

She felt happy at that thought of his parents would approve of her she didn't know why but it did make her happy. She leaned her head on his shoulder as the only sound was the fire as they just looked at the picture of the happy looking couple, you could see the love they had to have for each other in the painting and she was left wondering if her and Bruce would end up like that as well. A part of her hoped that they could find that kind of happiness.

**-Elsewhere-**

David Longshadow was just relaxing at his apartment it was kind of odd at first living in a place all his own. Besides the false memories the only place he had ever lived had been with his old team. A wave of sadness hit him thinking about them, they weren't as close as he would have liked at times but they had been his family in a way and he did miss them. The fact that he hadn't heard of them in so long only left him with the cold feeling that they weren't around anymore. Even though they had given the cure to Cadmus he knew that they must have let his old friends and team die and it filled him with a cold rage that they would just discard them like that.

He pushed those thoughts away, he didn't want to think about that at the moment he sighed sitting on his couch and looked around the place. It was a simple place but a nice one, two bedrooms although the second was empty and he honestly had no idea what to do with it, decent kitchen with bathroom with a large L shaped room that one part acted like a dinner room while the other was the living room.

It wasn't like the large base he had lived in with the Ultimen and didn't have all the latest things but he never did like that, this was more to his tastes after all. He was watching the news when he heard the knocking at his door, he was wondering who it was when he turned off the TV. It could be one of his neighbours they were good people and he liked the area.

When he opened the door the last thing he thought he would see was a slightly distraught looking Donna Troy who was looking uncharacteristically a bit vulnerable.

"Hey David, can I come in?" She asked him and he knew for certain something was really wrong.

"Of course come on in Donna," he moved aside and she walked and sat down on the couch and held her knees to her chest. He had never seen her like this and he moved next to her placing a hand on her shoulders.

"Donna what's going on?"

"I...it's just that, I don't know where to start. I mean I found out who my father is and that my mother didn't even want me at first," she said in a pained voice and she let the entire story out of her about the entire adventure.

"I mean first I learn that Hades is our father but that mother had seconds thoughts about me is just too much. What if she decided that she didn't want a second daughter? Would I still be some statue sitting in a room collecting dust totally forgotten all this time? It's just so hard to accept that my mother didn't want me at first," Donna felt like she was on edge of tears at this point.

She thought her mother's love was absolute and that she would always have it but this changed things for her. It had shaken her to her core and she didn't know what to think or feel at the moment she was so lost that she needed someone to help her out of her despair and for some reason she had ended up at his place. She hadn't done it consciously, she had been in such a daze getting back she didn't even notice where she was until she had been at his door and she had just knocked on it without thinking.

She then suddenly felt a pair of strong arms suddenly slid around her and she found herself being held by Longshadow, she didn't even fight it as she turned and quickly just wanted the human contact, to be comforted. She turned slightly and buried her face into his large strong chest as she just let him hold her. She felt comfortable in his arms, even though he was strong he held her gently and she felt feelings starting to swell up inside of her.

For awhile now she had been wondering about David, he was so kind and even gentle side of his nature that she hadn't seen in many. There was a peaceful essence to him and the fact that he had been a very good friend to her but lately she had been wondering if perhaps there could be more. She saw how the women of this world fell in love with the men and it seemed all her friends and even her own sister had finally gotten into a relationship and she felt left out. After the whole thing with Peter she put aside those types of feelings to focus on her life but here in David's arms those feelings she had felt for Peter were starting to rise up in her again only now for David.

Perhaps it was time to try again and open her heart, she did like him a lot and she had been debating trying something with him so maybe this was the time to act, after all an Amazon didn't wait but took control. She managed to pry herself a little off his chest and looked up into his face and she smiled a little. She inched closer and she could see the confusion in his face and she could only admit how cute it looked. She touched her lips with his and she felt him stiffen in surprise and for a moment she wondered if this was the wrong choice.

Then she felt him respond feeling his lips move against hers and it was different to kiss a man. A bit rougher but in a nice way she moved a little closer now pressing herself up against him feeling him hold her tightly now. She managed to slip her arms around his neck and the kiss deepened. She closed her eyes feeling the pleasure of the moment and his hands slightly trailing her spine. It sent shivers of joy down it feeling that and she gently drew the nails of one of her hands over the back of his neck feeling him moan in response.

She felt herself getting warm and hot and she wanted more, she liked the way this felt and wondered what it felt like to do more. She needed to feel something more than the pain and confusion she felt at the moment, eventually they had to break the kiss and they were left looking at each other.

David Longshadow wasn't sure if he was awake or dreaming, he had been wondering how to get the courage to ask her out and then she just suddenly kisses him and not in a friendly manner either, he may not be very experienced but he could tell a passionate kiss when he felt it. He had to admit she felt so good pressed up against him as well and he could feel his heart beating quickly as she kissed him again, he eagerly match her kiss and thought that if this was a dream he didn't want to wake up for the moment.

The next thing he knew he was on his back as she was on top of him running her hands over his chest and good god it felt good to him. He ran his hands over her arms and sides and she would moan out slightly as they continued on. Then he felt her reaching under his shirt and suddenly he knew that they were dangerously going to cross a line pretty soon. He knew what would happen if he didn't stop her and even though a part of him wanted her to continue he knew that he would hate himself in the morning for taking advantage of her in this state.

He quickly grabbed her upper arms, "Donna stop, we can't do this."

Donna was shocked that he stopped her and for a moment she was actually afraid that she might have done something wrong. Maybe he didn't feel the same way as her and she just ruined their friendship and she honestly wasn't sure if she could handle being rejected again. Being rejected by Peter had hurt but having it done a second time in a row would be crushing to her.

"You, you don't want me?" She asked him not looking into his eyes.

"God trust me I do but not like this," he told her gently taking a hand to stroke the side of her face gently, "but you're hurting and I want us to do it for the right reasons. I've liked you for awhile now and I don't want to screw things up by being impulsive with you."

Donna took a second to digest that and she didn't feel so bad and thinking about it was she even ready for something like this? To just come over and kiss him and then sleep with him just like that? No she knew that he deserved better than that and in all honestly it would only be weird the next day and she wanted her first time with a man to be something special. She smiled at him and laid down on his chest resting her head on it.

"It's okay David I guess it is too sudden and for the record I liked you for a bit now too but wasn't sure if you felt the same," she admitted to him and smiled a bit more when she felt his arms encircle her waist.

"Let's just take it slow and one step at a time," he offered.

She nodded her head and just let all the stress from the last few hours flow over her, "Okay but I just want to stay like this for a bit if that's okay."

He smiled as a hand went to stroke her long dark hair, "It's fine by me I'll always be there for you if you need it."

Donna sighed as she snuggled up against him feeling the warmth and protection that she hadn't felt since she had been a little girl. She felt that she could trust David with anything and this was so soothing to her, she hardly noticed when she drifted off to sleep in the arms of the man that she cared for and was slowly falling in love with.

**Next up chapter 25: Team Gemini **


	25. Team Gemini

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 25: Team Gemini **

It was in the afternoon but you couldn't really tell in the Cadmus facility since it was mainly underground and hence no windows anywhere. You just had to go by the clocks or by your internal clock most of the time which was why you could bet everyone wore a watch on them just in case. At any rate walking down the halls was the leader of the new Cadmus team called Guardian his golden armor was spotless and even gleamed in the lighting of the facility. But he was heading towards Amanda Waller's office, he felt it was finally time for his team to get out there and do some good like they were supposed to.

The world needed help and the Justice League couldn't be everywhere, plus the people could use a team that was more down to earth in a way, and sometimes literally. He never understood why they had to have a giant space station in orbit, although he did see the logistics of it with no country to get in the way of them. But he really didn't like a giant death ray or whatever it was they had pointed at the Earth, at space where invaders could come from made sense but at the Earth? What were they thinking he often wondered.

Waller was in her office looking over the reports for Task Force X, they had lost one member in the Watchtower but a new replacement would be easy enough to find. They had taken the Annihilator armor just in case they needed it, they were already working on overcoming the flaw it had when confronted by peaceful actions. Although they hadn't managed to get any word on Plastique but she was listed as lost to them or dead by now. If she was still alive from the reports she would have to be on life support if her face and upper body could be fixed and that was a big if.

General Eding was already starting to call them the Suicide Squad given the types of missions they would be doing. It didn't matter they were all criminals facing life sentences or death sentences the world wouldn't miss them if they survived long enough to earn their freedom. Plus they needed a team like that working behind the scenes, nothing that could be linked back to Cadmus they would be their team that didn't officially exist which was why they were never based in any official Cadmus base only their black bases that didn't show up on any reports.

She had just finished the report when her door opened and a member of their official team came in, if Waller believed in fate she would have guessed his arrival was a part of that but she wasn't the type that believed in fate or destiny or any of that other stuff. The future was forged by your will and your own hands nothing else.

"Harper I supposed you're here for a reason and not a chat," Waller states shutting off her computer monitor giving him her undivided attention.

"We're ready for the real world and I want to take my team out there," he said in a respectful manner, "We've been training for months and we need to get them out there, they deserve to get out into the real world. We were trained to be your team that was to help people at least that's what you promised me."

Amanda arced an eyebrow, "I guess I did but you honestly think that they are ready?"

Guardian nodded his head, "They are they just need to prove themselves."

"You realise of course that there will be some questions asked of the team not to mention as you are aware the Justice League will not particularly care for how we created this team in the first place. They will react negatively not to mention there might be some tension in your team about a couple of the Justice League members as well."

"So I ask you again, are you sure that you think you can handle it?"

Guardian nodded his head, "I read the briefing and I know enough to know how you created them, and I made sure you knew that I didn't like it, but they are living people with rights and they deserve to put all their hard work to good use. They have been training for this and it's time to show that Cadmus trusts them to start to protect this world as they were meant to."

Amanda considered things she knew how the League would react but in all honestly she couldn't care less about that anyway. She knew that sooner or later the League would want to get involved but in all honestly they couldn't since Cadmus was sanctioned by the government they couldn't do anything against them and if they tried they would be arrested. She thought about the progress of the clones and they seemed to have formed into a good team, at least better than the Ultimen had been and they seemed stable as well.

She gave him a hard look that pretty much told him that if he screwed up he would wish that he had stayed an old man, "Alright you get your chance but you better not screw this up, we need public opinion on our side as much as possible as soon as possible."

Guardian nodded his head as he turned to leave, he would tell his team they had the green light to go and he was looking forward to how the team did in a real life situation.

**-Kent Farm-**

Peter was working with Clark on the Kent farm, he was here with Kara since the Kents were having a family get together and he was invited with Kara of course not that he minded at all, Clark's parents in a way reminded him of May and Ben Parker and it was nice to feel that kind of warm atmosphere in a home again. He missed coming back home to his aunt after school or work or even after a date with MJ or just finished hanging out with his friends and she was there. He missed a lot about his old life and he knew that the hole in his heart and soul would never fully heal but he could deal with it now.

He had good friends and someone special in his life, a new job, and he felt he was really doing something with his life. Life was finally giving him a break it seemed and despite what happened with Doctor Octopus also getting sucked into this world like he had been, he was safely locked away somewhere and he could rot there for all he cared.

Peter was helping Clark repair a fence that was on the farm, he was holding a board while Clark was pushing the nails into the wood with his fingers.

"Okay not that I mind but couldn't you do this in like a split second if you wanted to?" Peter asked the older man.

Clark just smiled, "I could but where would the fun be in that Peter?"

"You need to get a life if you think this is fun," Peter shook his head. "I mean what did you do for fun around here when you were a teenager?"

"Oh there were dances and stuff, plus hanging out at the town center, going into the woods or playing in the cornfields stuff like that."

Peter just stared at him for a moment, "Okay I was right farm life is the most boring life there is, at least you didn't have a stamp collection or something."

"What's wrong with stamps?"

Peter just stood there not sure if he was serious or not but realized that he was serious. This was the man who was faster than a speeding bullet, had most women swoon as he flew in being all heroic, was the idle of many, had a lot of cool powers and yet he was also the bigger geek than he was. It was either sad or kind of comforting but he wasn't sure which one.

He just sighed shaking his head as they went back to work together, at least the work was something that he didn't mind. It was good work and it was nice doing something like this something a bit normal well at least as normal as working on a farm with a human looking alien that was pushing in nails into the wood with his own hands like he was doing again. Peter looked to see that they would be at this for a least an hour or so until they were done just in time for dinner and he couldn't wait to try Miss. Kent's food again.

Inside the home, Lois was talking with Martha Kent and Kara as they were sitting around waiting for Martha's food to get done and Jonathan to return from the store with some last minute snack foods for the meal.

"So Kara how are things going in New York?" Lois asked the young woman.

Kara smiled at her, "Yeah it's going pretty good actually. Classes are going well and I've been making friends at the paper and at school, it's nice to have a life outside of crime fighting but it's nice to get together with Donna and the others at times as well."

"Oh and nothing much on the Peter front?" Lois grinned she may be a reporter that wrote the news but that didn't mean she didn't like good gossip like any other woman would. Although she did secretly read the gossip column at work but no one but her knew that not even Clark.

Kara smiled at the older woman, "Things are going great, we hit a rough patch but we got over it and we're back in that comfort zone again and I like that a lot more than being angry with each other."

"It's all just a part of being in a relationship," Martha said to her, "You get your ups and your downs but it's worth it all."

Lois nodded her head as she remembered how angry she had been with Clark when he told her his secret she wasn't sure what had hurt the fact that he didn't trust he until that point to say something, the fact that he felt that she wouldn't accept the Clark side of his life or how stupid she had been all these years. The clues had always been there and yet she never once linked things together and it had been kind of embarrassing for her that she was an award winning journalist and yet she never once thought that the man that she worked beside all this time was Superman.

She got over it of course but she liked to hold that over him from time to time just to watch him squirm a little. It was fun how the man that could not be run over by a train could be brought down by a mortal woman at times.

"Trust me Kara she's right we still argue now and then only mostly it's the whole 'I'm not letting you go there it's too dangerous' type of thing with us," Lois stated.

Kara nodded her head, "I guess I can sympathise after all we kind of have the same thing sometimes as well although the roles tend to be reversed at times. But I should worry more since bullets just bounce off me but go right through him."

It was true she had seen the scares first hand on his body and he had been injured a few times as well, but she knew that he could handle himself after all he had been at this for years but still a part of her would always worry something might happen. Then again something could happen to her as well, he had to save her once from Metallo and another from Doctor Octavius who both had used kryptonite on her to weaken her. Just thinking about Octavius made her tongue run over the fake tooth in her mouth that had replaced the one that he had knocked out.

It was a constant reminder to her that she could be hurt and even killed if she got careless or if the enemy were prepared. It was kind of scary thought since coming to this world she had felt that nothing could touch her, but it was moments like that, that brought that illusion crashing down.

"So besides that things are going well then," Martha commented, "I mean you two made a very cute couple."

"Thanks," Kara said blushing a bit.

Lois gave a small laugh at this, "I have to wonder though if I should move in with Clark. After all we're in the same boat and it would be a bit cheaper to split the rent."

Martha couldn't help but smile at this she already considered Lois part of the family and she would love it if Clark and her got married one day. Although she had been hoping for this day for a long time and if her moving in helped move that along well she was okay by that. She told Lois that it might be a good idea and Lois gave a smile back having the older woman's blessing in a way was kind of nice. Then again Martha Kent was one of the nicest women that Lois had ever met and she could see how Clark had turned out to be such a good person.

"Oh that will be something to see," Kara smirked at that idea, "maybe you could spruce up that apartment of his I swear he's got no style, it's so bland at times."

Lois nodded her head having seen his place, and Martha knew just how tidy Clark was his old room had never needed cleaning and he kept things in a specific order that he could know exactly if something was moved in his room and she had experimented with that now and again.

The women began talking with each other and Jonathan came back and soon after Martha's food was nearly done the boys were called inside. They were told to clean up of course and they all sat around the table eating and talking like a large family. It was a nice family moment and there was much laughter among them. Every now and then Jonathan and Martha invited the four of them over for a dinner, for them it was always good.

Lois never had a typical family life with her father the General always on the move, her mother wasn't around anymore and her sister was off doing who knows what so going over to the Kent farm was always a treat for her. She got to see the life Clark and grown up in and a part of her was jealous of how close he was with his family. You couldn't help but feel the love of the home and she couldn't help how this was the exact way a family was portrayed back when people thought the Russian's would invade, radiation would make giant mutant animals and women unfortunately were supposed to stay at home.

For Kara and Peter it was always great coming back here, for Kara spending the last few years here had been boring but the Kents had been the only family life she had since going into stasis. Sure it had been boring living here until she was out of high school and could get out and start making her own life but it was nice coming back here now and then. It was like coming home again for her which was strange since it had only been her home for a few years and yet there was something about it that was charming and just drew you in.

For Peter it was like coming home for him in a way as well, the Kents reminded him of how things had been like when both his aunt and uncle had been alive they were so similar that it was kind of scary at times but he still liked coming here. That was one of the things he missed about his old life that warm feeling of a real home.

As they ate, talked and joked about life and other things they went to clean it up which of course meant the men had to since in their house since Martha did the cooking the men would always clean up. Of course since they had Clark it was always pretty simple with how fast they could clean up. They moved to the living room and were just talking it was going fairly well as the afternoon was being eaten up.

"So Kara you got any friends still in Smallville?" Peter asked her since she had only talked a few times about it.

Kara thought about it, "I think most went off to college or something I haven't heard much about the people I knew but then again I only knew a few of them and none of them knew my secret."

Peter nodded his head he had only a handful of real friends in his life back in high school and that made him worry about some of them. He had left a message for Liz with Kitty hoping that she could find her since he wasn't sure where she was, it was good that Liz got over her thing against mutants. A couple of others he might want to look up although Flash wasn't someone he was sure he wanted to meet up. They had buried the hatchet in their last year together but some wounds ran deep and he couldn't forget all the things Flash had done to him over the years up to that as well.

Peter was about to say something when the League communicators in their ears rang out with a signal. All three heroes flinched a bit at the sudden noise.

"_**Superman, Supergirl, Spider-Man are you close to a television?"**_ came the voice of J'onn.

"What's going on?" Clark asked pressing the device in his ear.

"_**Turn on and try to find the news you'll want to see this for yourself."**_ Came the Marian's cryptic replay.

"Okay that is seriously weird," Kara said standing up and turning on the TV in the room trying to find a channel with some kind of news report.

"What's going on and I thought you three were off the clock," Jonathan asked his son.

"Not sure Pa, but we usually keep the communicators just in case we need help or something sudden happens and they need help right away," he explained to his father.

Kara was going through the channels not that there were many since the Kents didn't watch much TV anyway (another reason the place was so boring at times to her) and she finally managed to get some kind of news bulletin, she sat back as the others gathered around wondering what was going on and then they saw it.

"_This is Steven Pierce for Channel 5 news,"_ A reporter said from what looked like a view from a helicopter. They couldn't see him but they could see into a street and from the caption it appeared to be a city in California. They were looking at some sort of dam that apparently was leaking a lot of water and the dam looked like it was about ready to break that is if it wasn't for a group of people in costumes fixing it.

"As you can see the dam that helped to give power and water to the city below had suffered structural damage from a small quake not too long ago and when the damn started to fail these people came just in time. I don't know who they are but from the looks of things they seem to have at least a Thanagarian on their team although I don't think that is in fact Hawkgirl as she has changed her looks recently."

They could see what looked like a female Thanagarian only in green and yellow clothing with the usual mask that the species wear. They also saw a few others as well as the reporter described them but it was the sight of one of them that got a reaction out of Kara.

"What the hell!?" Kara shoot up glaring at the TV as an image of Galatea was shown. "What the hell is she doing there and what does she think she's doing?"

Everyone could see the anger in her eyes and Peter had to get up and put a hand on her shoulder making sure that she wasn't entertaining any thoughts on flying off at the moment to seek out her clone. Kara gave herself a few calming breaths before rushing off to do something that even though she really wanted to do might not be the best idea that she could do either. She just watched as Galatea was working with other people with obvious powers to stop the flooding.

There was an odd boy that had an S shield that she and Clark wore on a leather jacket who was flying around and looked like he had some type of super strength or at least to her that was what it looked like. It was kind of odd for some reason but she couldn't place it, the Thanagarian could be someone who had been left behind in the invasion and had been just laying low the entire time. There was someone with super speed that looked like to be in a yellow version of Flash's costume she just knew that Wally wouldn't like someone ripping off his look and the yellow was kind of an eyesore as well.

She watched the others like some green skinned teenaged girl with flying and shape shifting powers. There as a boy roughly her own age in what looked like a black version of Galatea's costume who seemed to be pretty powerful himself. She also caught someone in all black costume with long brown hair who was helping out and seemed to be helping by giving out orders to others about what to do. The leader though seemed to be a man in gold and blue.

"Okay, tell me that no one else is thinking that a certain government group is involved in making a new team again," Peter asked sarcastically.

There was no answer but Clark and Kara were both thinking the same thing with how Galatea was there and they figured that she was with Cadmus after all the Ultimen had been a hero team created by the group and it looked like someone was at it again.

"Oh god Jonathan look at the boy there," Martha said looking at Superboy on the screen.

Jonathan took a closer look and he couldn't believe what he was seeing but the boy's face was too close a match that he didn't want to believe it at first. He felt his wife's hand grip his and he gently took hers again. Clark looked oddly at them and then to the screen and he wasn't sure what they were thinking or seeing, sure something about the boy seemed odd but he wasn't sure what it was.

"What is it?" Lois finally asked them.

"That boy looks exactly like Clark did at that age," Martha told them and everyone in the room looked shocked at the TV and Clark finally realized why the boy looked so familiar. He hadn't thought about it since it wasn't like he looked at pictures of his younger self all the time, he suddenly got a cold feeling in his stomach and knew what the boy was. He had been cloned many times usually they died with the exception of Bizzaro but this looked like it could be a more stable clone if younger.

Kara's jaw clenched at the thought of someone fooling around with more clones of herself and her cousin, and there was no telling about the others as well. She looked at the other two heroes in the room, both Clark and Peter had to deal with clones made from them in the past and all of them shared a knowing look at her.

"We need to get there," Kara told them.

Clark nodded his head pulling off his classes, "I agree but we're going to do this smart Kara and we're going to have backup for this just in case."

Peter nodded his head thinking of possible people given what he saw, "I think we'll need Flash for the speeder, maybe Shayera and Green Lantern, Longshadow should be told as well as he might be able to reach them since he would know where they are coming from. Plus maybe anyone else that is free for the moment since I'm not sure I like the look of a couple of them, they seem to have a few major power houses on their side and I want to be sure to even out the playing field."

Clark nodded his head in agreement and looked to his parents and Lois, "Sorry looks like we're going to have to leave a bit earlier."

Jonathan nodded, "We know son just be careful."

Clark gave him a reassuring smiled, "We will Pa we always do."

The Kents and Lois watched as they contacted the Watchtower and they disappeared in a beam of white light all three of them hoping that things wouldn't get too messy, so they sat and watched the TV wondering if they would show up before or after the reporters left the scene.

**Next up Chapter 26: Clash of Teams**


	26. Clash of the teams

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 26: Clash of Teams**

Guardian watched as his team was finishing up with the cleanup effort, he was clad that they had averted damage to the city and that the flooding was no longer an issue. They had made a decent patch job of the dame that would hold until it could be properly repaired. There had been injuries from the earthquake that caused this and after they had finished with the dame they had gone on to do rescue work. With Zoom and Galatea working at super speed much of the rubble was out of the way and with Miss Martian's telepathy they could find people that were hidden under the rubble and ruins of buildings.

They had been working for a long time and he could tell that his people were tired so was he but he was also pretty tired even in the new body that had been much better than his old one but he was soon finding the limits that his new body had. But despite it all he felt really good they had done a lot of good today and that was something that he always wanted to do, to really make a difference and he knew that today they had.

They had saved a lot of lives and helped a lot of people just the kind of thing that Waller had told him that their team would be doing. You couldn't talk about with other people there was just this great feeling you got inside seeing family members reunited seeing mothers hug their children or lovers embracing each other even friends together again. He was watching some of that now and it filled him with a sense of peace in a way he had finally started what he dreamed to be doing.

He had already talked to the press about their team Gemini (although he would have preferred a more patriotic team name but it was Waller's choice for some reason) he made some introductions of his teammates as well. Now the world would know who they were and that they were here to help make a difference, of course the first question that had been asked had been were they new League members he told them that they were their own team separate from the League and had no affiliation with them. There were still heroes out there that weren't part of the League although most seemed to be these days.

But Cadmus was a government run organization and even though the League had the support of many countries it wasn't technically official and any country would be able to tell them to leave. Cadmus was a team that was sponsored by the American government so whatever they did was totally official and most likely they would stay in the US. That was a bit of a shame to him since the League would be able to go anywhere technically but he hoped that when other countries saw how well his team did more would be more open to their help.

He didn't know when but he felt a presence behind him and turned to see who he expected to see, the Justice League. He could see Superman there floating with Supergirl; there was Green Lantern and Shayera (formerly Hawkgirl) with him also in the air. He could see that they were not impressed with his team not that he could blame them but these were his teammates no matter where they came from. But he wasn't going to start anything and got up to face them, he hear a sound to his left and noticed someone else had just landed and could see Spider-Man was there as well, a zooming sound and a red blur announced the arrival of The Flash as he came to a stop. There were a couple of other arrivals as well as who he thought was Wonder Woman at first but she was younger and wore a different costume this had to be her little sister Wonder Girl and the last member he knew all too well after reading the file on him. It was Longshadow the sole survivor of the Ultimen the last team that Cadmus had created but had gone rogue and later died all except him.

He had to admit it was quite a gathering of heroes, many of the originals plus the new ones that had proven themselves it seemed.

"We would like to have some words with you and your team," Superman said in somehow a friendly way and yet there was a command hidden in there as well.

"Alright but only as long as you and your people play nice we are here helping these people," Guardian told him looking up at the man who was floating a few feet up in the air. He wasn't sure if he was doing this as a way of gaining a psychological edge on people, well it wouldn't work for him.

Supergirl was glaring at Galatea who was just smirking at her as she was floating next to someone all in black. She didn't care what this guy said she knew more than enough about her to get the feeling this team was filled with some bad eggs or at least ticking time bombs if they were anything like her.

"Oh yeah then why the hell do you have a murderer on your team then?" Supergirl asked him and saw him hesitate for a second before smiling.

"Oh so they didn't tell you how she went nuts and killed several people?" Kara smirked at this.

"You got proof of this miss?" Guardian said to her standing up for his team but he would look into this.

Galatea was now glaring at Kara_, 'That bitch, I took out those people under orders. But she can't really prove anything since I doubt saying that she dreamt up murders that she thought she was doing wouldn't go over pretty well here.'_

She saw Kaine tensing up getting ready to jump in as well and she had to suppress a smile, things between them had been very close since that day. She didn't totally understand it herself but she found herself caring for him more than anyone. It was a strange feeling, she liked how they would just lay together holding or cuddling each other when they were alone or just sitting together as they watched something on his TV. She wasn't used to these feelings but despite that she was enjoying herself with him and with these feelings.

She wished she could talk to someone about it but it was a strange topic to bring up and besides there wasn't anyone that she could go to, the only other females on her team had been around even less than she was. She watched the League get all tensed up as her team and theirs started to face each other off, it was a tense moment and anything could cause a full blown out fight but Guardian looked like he didn't want to start anything and Superman seemed to be doing the same since neither team wanted to be seen throwing the first punch as the news people weren't that far and any fight would bring them running.

They had done a good thing here today and fighting the League could undo it, it also could hurt the League's credibility as they were seen fighting a team that had just finished fixing a major problem.

"Well if you have some problem with me then why don't you just settle it right here and now?" Galatea said trying to goad her into a fight and by the looks of Kara's reaction she was just about to get one as well.

"Hold on here maybe we don't have to cause some type of fight," Powerboy said as he got between the girls. He looked at Kara and he couldn't help but look at her, she was his own age and she looked amazing to him. Her long golden hair blowing in the wind, her bright blue eyes and to him she looked simply angelic. He knew that Galatea was a clone of her but he could the original much more appealing to him she seemed like perfection. He had watched the videos of her back at the base all the time, she was so powerful, graceful and she always helped those in need.

He couldn't help but be blown away by her and to actually meet her in person he couldn't help but feel like this was a dream come true. He never spoke of this to anyone although he did have a collection of pictures of her in a place in his room. He smiled at her feeling his heart beating faster just being in her presence.

Kara looked at the boy and wasn't sure why but she felt a little unnerved around him she didn't understand why he was looking at her like that. She knew next to nothing about him other than the fact that he was wearing a costume that looked like a male black version of Galatea's only with a cape on it. He was about her age with dark hair with a white streak in it, he was actually handsome and his body looked like a young Superman's.

"And you are?" Kara asked.

He smiled as though she had just made his day, "You can call me Powerboy, I'm still working on a real name at the moment Supergirl or can I call you Kara?"

"Uh...Supergirl will be fine for now," she told him.

"Oh right we just met and all so that would be a bit much," he said smiling at her. "Although I must admit I know things with you and my teammate aren't the best-"

"She tried to kill me," Supergirl said sternly.

"And you blew me up," Galatea said back to her and the girls were glaring at each other again.

"Tea keep calm," Kaine said gently to her and gently touched her arm. She visibly relaxed with his touch and Supergirl looked at this and took note of it. She didn't know who the black clad person was but apparently there was something going on with the two of them.

She was about to say something else when Powerboy was back and a little too close for comfort for her, "Please I know things are bad but can we please not fight for the moment?"

Peter had had enough of this guy, he had been getting way too close to his girlfriend for awhile now and he really didn't like the way he was looking at her. He had seen guys with that look on girls before usually the kind that liked the girl and obviously this guy didn't know she was spoken for. So he jumped up next to them and made his way next to her looking slightly up at the taller man, he was at least a few inches taller than he was and from the looks of things might be stronger but there was no way in hell some guy was just going to try and put the moves on his girl in his face.

He put his arm around Kara's waist and took a bit of pleasure seeing his face darken a little, "Look you mind giving my girlfriend a little room you're invading her personal space."

"Girlfriend," Powerboy said flatly and now his dark look was right at Peter.

"Yeah we're together in case you didn't notice," he said and that's when Kara caught on what was going on here. The guy was trying to hit on her of all things maybe if she was still single she might have entertained this but she was in love with Peter and she moved even closer to prove the point.

Flash was looking at his clone and he had to admit he wasn't sure if he was flattered that they thought he was good enough to clone or insulted that they did. He looked at the costume which looked like a reverse version of his own. "Man what are you supposed to be Reverse Flash? Anti-Flash?"

"I'm called Zoom," the clone stated.

"Huh, you don't sound like me what gives? I thought you were a clone of me or something I mean that's what Cadmus does right make clones?"

Zoom was surprised that he figured that out or most likely it was just what Flash was told by the others, he too had wondered when his own team mates had told him that he didn't sound like the Flash on TV so he asked Guardian. Apparently they weren't all pure clones as some of them had certain DNA fragments added in to fill in certain gaps. Although he didn't really feel like telling him that or letting out certain secrets since he wasn't sure how much Cadmus would want to be revealed.

"Let's just say that they decided to improve on things a bit," Zoom said cryptically.

"Yeah well I bet I'm still more handsome, witty, funny and faster than you," Flash grinned at him hoping that he would get a rise out of him and maybe he could see if this guy really was faster than he was. But to his disappointment he was just ignoring it.

Shayera was with John as they floated looking at the other Thanagarian and she was pissed. If it wasn't for John there to keep her calm she might as well have gone after the other woman. She wasn't sure if this was just another of her people or if they had cloned her, and the second option wasn't exactly something that sat well with her. She still remembered when the Justice Lords had returned and her evil counterpart had attacked John and framed her for the attack.

She had spent time in the Tower's holding cell wondering if she had lost her mind that if the story that her counterpart had told John about being a hidden personality was true. Being alone and uncertain of even who you were, it was one of the worse moments she could remember other when she had turned on her team when her people came and then later on her own people. Now looking at this woman wearing the same hawk mask that was tradition in her people she couldn't tell.

She couldn't see any hair so the woman must have it kept short, so if it was red like hers there was no way to tell and the eyes she couldn't see through the lenses in the mask either. She wanted to challenge her and see if there was anything in her voice or movements that could tell her if the woman she was looking at was a clone but she couldn't and it was driving her nuts.

"Easy there we'll get our chance," John silently whispered to her.

"I know but still I don't like this at all," she hissed back at him.

"I know and I don't think anyone else does," John then sighed as he saw that there was something going on with Peter, Kara, and at least three others going on. "Damn it if they can't keep things calm we're going to end up in a major brawl and that's the last thing we need with news cameras not too far away not after they saved the day."

Shayera gritted her teeth as she was all for hitting something at this point but refrained herself from doing it. Although a bit of her hoped that the Cadmus team threw the first punch so they could claim to be just defending themselves and if they did she was going after the Thanagarian first if just to beat some answers out of her.

With things getting more tense all the time both Guardian and Superman felt that they should put a stop to it before things got out of hand, too bad that was when Superboy flew down from his spot to look at Superman and he was surprised by it. It was surreal to see a face that he only had seen in either pictures or from the memories of when he looked into the mirror at that age.

"Jeez what's up with the hair dude?" Superboy asked him and Superman honestly had nothing he could say to that.

"Look son I know-"

"You don't know jack and don't call me son I'm not exactly pleased with my own origins you know," Superboy said interrupting him.

"Superboy not now get back into position," Guardian said to him and when the boy looked like he was about to say something he shot the boy a glare and he decided that whatever remark he was going to make he wouldn't say it and just get back into position.

Guardian sighed as not for the first time he thought if it was just because the boy was a clone or there was just something wrong with this generation. Kids would never act like that in his day and he was starting to feel his age again.

"Look Superman I honestly like all the good work you and your people do but the fact is that my team have just as much a right to do this as you, more so technically since we're sponsored by a legitimate government group. Now I know their origins aren't typical and you have a right to be angry but they're living beings and deserve to be treated as such." Guardian said to the man of steel.

"Now unless you have some lawful complaint with my team and have the evidence for it then I would take action so if you can't provide both then my team have been working hard all day, we're tired and we would like to get back and rest."

Superman looked down at him as he was thinking of his options, "Fine but given the history that Cadmus has shown we'll be watching."

"What!?" Kara said turning to him enraged at this.

"Kara we can't do anything at least not at the moment. They haven't done anything illegal so we can't just fight them here," he told her.

"So we're just letting them go, we're letting her go of all people?" She said pointing at Galatea.

"For the moment I'm afraid so," Superman sighed.

Kara glared angrily up at him and then cast her clone a look before she flew up and away from the group. Peter saw this and sighed and looked at Superman annoyed, "Great you have any idea how much work you just put on me for calming her down, getting her over this and not to mention listening for the next few hours about her ranting about all of this?"

Peter saw that Superman had the decency to at least looked a little sheepish at that after all he had been on the end of this kind of thing with Lois Lane as well, Peter just sighed and shook his head he was so not looking forward to going home after this. He loved her, he loved being with her but sometimes being the understanding boyfriend really sucked at times too.

**-New York-**

It was late at night although for the 'city that never sleeps' that didn't mean much, New York was just as busy at night when it was morning the only real difference was all the lights that lit up the night. Everywhere people were coming and going and the city streets were just as busy. Out in the Hudson River there was a small ship that was making its way into the harbour, at first it would look like nothing out of the ordinary but standing at the bow of the ship almost as thought remaking a scene from a certain movie about a ship that sank on its first voyage was the owner of the boat.

He was tall and slim and he wore a strange purple coat and wide brim hat that hid his face.

"Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today," the man started to sing at the top of his voice, "I'm going to be a part of it, New York, New York!"

The man ended the line of the song with a long laughing, "You know I should have taken a vacation years ago and here I am in the Big Apple and I'm ready to take one big bite out of it. Oh I can't wait to see all the sites, Times Square, Central Park and all the rest I'm going to paint the down red."

"And the paint I'll use will be the red paint I get after I squish a certain human bug that lives in this city." He said darkly in a menacing voice.

He took his hat off and in the lights of the boat the Joker's face could finally be seen as he looked over the water to the city. It had been awhile since he could poke his head out in the open after the last run in with Spider-Man he had kept himself a low profile knowing that the Bat would soon be on his heels so he got out of Gotham while he could. He really didn't like that web swinging hero he had ruined his plans for the last time if he wanted to come to his town and give him trouble well he was going to repay him the favour. He was looking forward to a little payback against him and maybe those close to him as well.

It was no secret that he was the boyfriend of Superman's little cousin so he had already made a few calls and a few threats as well to plan out his little revenge trip to New York. He wouldn't have to worry about the Batman showing up either as it was several hours away and he usually stayed in Gotham if he wasn't off with his little 'super friends' going over the world or even to other planets.

Those were the good times when all they had to deal with in Gotham was the Bat-squad and they weren't so bad without the big bag Bat backing them up. Oh the fun he planned to have in this city, plus not only could he get the revenge but he could do some 'shopping' as well although for him that meant getting things without paying and hopefully very violently as well.

"You really are an odd one Joker," came a very cultured voice from behind in the shadows.

"Now don't be like that, not after all the trouble I went to get you out of prison and to find what you needed," he said smiling at the man in the shadowed doorway. "You know that's not was easy to come by as you think, you have to look in all the right places, threaten not to melt a person's face here, pay or break someone's arm there. It's a lot of hard work sometimes I don't know how Lex does it."

"I would rather be going after Superman," he told the Joker.

"Well think of it as a stepping stone you've never gotten him so far take out the little leaguer and than you can move up into the majors. Besides taking her out will hurt the big blue idiot something fierce and isn't emotional pain just before the horrible physical pain right before a gruesome death all the sweeter?"

The man was silent as he seemed to think things through a bit, "Okay I will admit there is a bit of a Machiavellian taste to it."

"What does a child's pasts have to do with anything?" The Joker asked him.

The man was silent again trying to figure out what he meant when it hit him, "Not macaroni you fool, I mean it's very underhanded."

"Well why didn't you say so?" he laughed and then looked back out into the city. "It won't be long now and soon we'll get to take out a few pests in the world and some nice loot as well before we split up and go our separate ways."

"Just fine by me I can only take you in small doses anyway," he told the Joker going through a door deeper into the ship.

"Just fine by me," the Joker mocked him with a sneer, "Some people just don't have any sense of humor."

**Next up Chapter 27: Joker in the City**


	27. Joker In the City

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 27: Joker in the City**

Peter was dressed up in his costume doing his rounds as Spider-Man, so far it had been a tough few days. First there were a few major assignments at school that he had to work on then when taking pictures for a fluff piece for the paper at the water show he got drenched and ruined a camera. Thankfully he had a backup and the paper was going to pay for a new one but he liked that camera it had been the first one he got since coming to this world. And on top of all that he had to deal with an upset alien girlfriend he had spent all his free time (which wasn't much) to keep her company and try to get her over the whole Galatea thing.

He sighed as he reached Times Square and sat high up looking down at the people, it was late in the afternoon but he had a few hours of daylight left. So there he was just sitting around trying to take in a moment to just relax.

'_Man things have been busy lately and then we also got that new team going around,'_ Peter thought to himself_. 'I mean sure they're helping people but from what I heard about Cadmus I can't help but be on guard. That and I really don't like that Powerboy guy I mean what's up with him just hitting on my girl like that?'_

'I swear he better leave her alone," he really didn't like someone hitting on Kara. If it was innocent sure but that look he had been giving her wasn't something he liked. Then there was the fact that when he found out he was the boyfriend he got that look that Peter said 'I will have her even over your dead body' type of vide to it. Well Peter had faced death lots of time, hell he tried to jump right into it when he had nothing left going for him so if some super powered pretty boy wanted to throw down the gauntlet he was all for it. Now if only he could find a howitzer, some C4 and a tank and he would be all set.

He was also hoping to find something to do as well just to give himself something to focus on. At this point he would even take a purse snatcher at this point. He jumped off looking for some kind of trouble that he could help with and it wasn't until twenty minutes later that he found the scene of what looked like a robbery. It had been a jewellery store with the front of the entire store was blow open. He already saw the cops there looking over the place in the past he would have waited until they left before showing his face but that was his old life. Here the cops were actually glad to see him which was a major twist to things.

He saw what looked like the main detective, he hadn't seen him around before but he looked like a relative of Bullock form Gotham only in a lot better shape and looked like he actually bathed now and then so he decided to just drop in and say 'hi' to him.

Detective Sam Judd was tired he had been working a double shift and he was just about to get off when this call came in and they needed him to show up. He sighed as he rubbed the five o'clock shadow on his face feeling just as rugged as he looked. He looked over the scene as he let the crime lab guys do their thing while looking over it from the outside. The store held some valuables in it and so far it looked like the place had been cleaned out. They weren't sure what happened exactly but he took a guess from the looks of the front door that was the way in but he didn't understand why they smashed up the window. It was broken from the inside as there was glass on the sidewalk.

"So what do you think so far?"

He turned to see a woman in her mid thirties with strawberry red hair tied back into a ponytail with a ball cap on it with the name of her department on it. She was a bit shorter than he was but then again at six foot five he was pretty tall anyway. He knew this woman as Judy Fisher the head of the crime lab shift that was going through this. He worked with her for a few years now and had would admit he liked her, she was damn good at her job plus he could relax around her. So far she had been divorced and was raising her teenage daughter since the father left with some younger woman apparently.

Personally he thought of her ex as a jackass if he did that but he never did voice anything.

"Not sure the door looks kind of weird though," Sam said pointing to the odd warping on it.

Judy nodded, "Yeah noticed that too so far it looks like acid burns on it, found a few other oddities as well."

She held up a bag with a few playing cards on them he asked what was so special when she showed him the razor edges to them and that they had been used to cut the alarm wires inside. They were still working but they found some tire marks by the front figuring a large van or something had been there and Sam figured that they must had just thrown all the loot into the back of a van through the front window to pack everything up quickly. But that still didn't answer who would do something so elaborate.

"So new player in town?" Judy asked him.

Sam shrugged, "Maybe nothing like this has happened before usually criminals tend to not go in all flashy. I mean what kind of nut job goes through all of this?"

"Oh you'd be surprised officer there are a lot of nuts out there," came a new voice making both of them jump and turn around. To their surprised they came face to face with an upside down masked crime fighter that had been making a name for himself in New York.

"Spider-Man?" Judy said first seeing him there hanging upside down on a web line. "What are you doing here?"

Peter shrugged, "Saw the big party thought I'd see if I could help out somehow if you need anything."

Sam sighed he had nothing against super heroes but sometimes he felt that they go in the way of police work. Sure when some super powered guy was going around causing trouble or aliens invading then he could see the need for them to be there to protect people but this was the usual crime scene. Unfortunately Judy beat him to it when she stepped forward although what she said wasn't what he had thought she was going to do.

"Hey I know this is weird but can I get an autograph and picture my little girl is a big fan of yours," Judy told him putting up a camera.

Peter was still not used to this kind of thing happening to him especially when it was people in law enforcement but years of being chased and shot at by cops will do that to you. He brought this up with a few friends in the League and they just said to go with it. So he did what she asked after all it couldn't hurt thankfully after that she was grateful enough to let him see what they had found. He looked through the stuff (without touching of course they might have liked him but didn't trust anyone outside to just pick up evidence) but what he saw was very strange.

Acid marks, razor sharp playing cards and by the looks of it some kind of modified jack in the box had been used to blow up the safe in the backroom of the store. It was all just really strange stuff and Peter could swear that this kind of thing he should know, something was nagging the back of his mind about this kind of stuff. He thought about it and went through all the crazies he knew about in this world.

He eliminated ones with super powers as if they did they would have used them like someone with super strength would have just torn the safe door off not blown it up. That cut down on the majority of criminals that he had been studying in his time in this world. So he was going by location but that came up with nothing, so far most super villains that were in New York were just passing through, unlike his home universe where it was villain central at times.

"You know somehow I have to wonder about all of this," Sam said looking at the evidence that was on a table that had been set up. "All this crap isn't the usual stuff thieves have I mean what was the point in these things? Someone's idea of a bad joke or something?"

"What did you just say?" Peter said as something clicked as he looked over the things. "Oh man not that guy it can't be him."

"Him who?" Sam asked seeing how the hero was acting, "If you got any idea you better tell me now."

"Well there is one guy I know that uses stuff like this but he usually stays in Gotham."

"Gotham? Crap not someone from there I hate dealing with all the crazies there that's why I never took up that transfer to there years back. Gotham criminals make the ones in New York look freaking normal." Sam sighed feeling like an ulcer was coming on just thinking about this.

"Who do you think it is?" Judy asked him.

"You might want to call up Gotham PD and ask if the Joker has been seen around the city or locked up yet," Peter told them as he jumped off and onto the side of the building.

"Hey where do you think you're going?" Sam asked.

"Gotta make a call and see if I can call up an expert on this." Peter said to him and jumped off.

Peter made a beeline right to his place and quickly went to the phone to call up Bruce. If anyone would know if the Joker was in or out of Gotham he would plus the guy was the expert when it came to criminals from Gotham and this was especially the case with the Joker. From all the stories he heard the Joker seemed to be the worst out of the lot and gave Bruce the most trouble. He waited for the phone to be picked up on the other line.

"Wayne residence," came a very familiar British voice.

"Hey there Alfred it's Peter," he said to the man.

"Ah Mister Parker it's so nice to hear from you, I take it you're here calling Master Bruce?"

"You know it," he smiled. He liked Alfred he was a really good man and someone that he thought his Aunt May would have loved to have met. That gave him a small pain in his heart thinking about his poor aunt. She didn't deserve to die not like she had, neither did anyone else in the house that night but he pushed those memories away. He had to focus now and he could think back on that later.

"I'm sorry but Mr. Wayne is _out of town_ for the moment," Alfred told him.

Peter heard the slight strain on a few words there as 'out of town' he knew was a code word for saying he wasn't in Gotham.

"He's not at the club house is he?" Peter said using the code word for the Watchtower.

"A bit further than that I'm afraid," and Peter knew that meant that he was off in space again. Peter mentally cursed as he now had no way of getting in contact with Bruce.

"Well if he gets back tell him to call me, seems one of his friends from Gotham is in town and I was hoping he could have given me some help or advice about him seeing as he likes jokes and having a good time I thought he would know where he likes to hang out, a bit of a clown that guy is if you know what I mean." Peter said into the phone.

Alfred picked up on the meaning there, "Ah him, Mr. Wayne had been looking for him as he seemed to have disappeared from Gotham. I'll relay the message would you care for a second opinion on the matter as I'm sure someone else who knows about him can help you out."

Peter thought about it, he could use the extra help and if Gotham could spare someone then by all means he was all for it. "Okay sure see who can help me out and have them get in touch thanks Alfred."

"Good day to you and be careful as you know how rowdy a customer he can be." With that the line went dead and Peter was left wondering what to do next. He sat decided that maybe he could take a look around the city and see if he could shake some things up after all he had watched how Batman did things although he would be the first to admit he could never be_ that_ scary he could try it out.

"Peter you here?" came Kara's voice from her room.

"Yeah down here in the living room," he said looking up to see her walking out of her room in costume. "just flew in?"

"Yeah from Norway there was this ice avalanche threatening to bury a small settlement in the mountains." She sighed and he could see a little of her costume was slightly wet mostly likely from snow and ice from the looks of it.

"Hey did you get paired up with Ice since she's from around there?"

"Yep plus I didn't know the local language so she was a big help in translating for us," Kara told him sitting down next to him. "So how was your day?'

Peter sighed and placed an arm over her shoulder telling her who had just showed up into town, she was surprised that the Joker of all people seemed to be in New York. Sure she had heard from Barbara that he left Gotham now and then but it was still a rare thing for him to do. So since she needed something to get her mind off things she decided to help it would be nice to do something with Peter lately anyway as she knew she was putting him through some stress but he never once complained.

She smiled at that he never complained or said anything about how she was he was just being the best boyfriend he could be and she loved him for it. She felt a bit guilty about it as well since she hadn't done anything lately for him, it seemed like their roles had been reversed. When he first got here he was hurting so much and she had been there for him helping him to recover and she fell in love with the young man that was under all that pain.

But lately he had been the one supporting her and maybe it was time to stop acting like the spoiled and hurt girl that was going off all the time. Maybe it was time to grow up a bit and start acting more her age, she laid her head against Peter's shoulder feeling the warmth of his body next to hers. She felt calmer with him here with them like this and she was feeling like she had lost sight of what was important.

"Hey you okay?" Peter asked her.

She just smiled as she snuggled closer to him, "Oh yeah just enjoying myself care to join me?"

Peter wasn't sure what brought this one but hey he wasn't complaining about this at all. So he just held her close, he could smell her hair and feel her pressed up against him. He had a lot to think on but sometimes it was good to just relax for a moment and just take a breather at least that's what MJ had told him once when they had been like this and she was right too.

He could deal with the Joker in the morning at the moment he was tired and maybe thinking fresh in the morning could be helpful too and after all he didn't even know where to start looking for Joker so what was the rush? So he decided to just get comfortable stroking her hair as they just sat in silence just enjoying each other's company.

**-Joker's hideout-**

The Joker was looking over the loot he had stolen and was happy but then again he usually was a happy guy especially with money or causing his usual mischief and mayhem. The place they were staying in was just an old autobody shop that had once been an illegal operation for stealing cars and then stripping them. The cops had shut them down over a month ago and thanks to some persuasion to some less than upstanding citizens to learn about this place.

He also hired some local goons which you could find in any major city although mostly they worked for mob families and other such people as New York was largely untouched by his kind of criminal which was a bit sad to him. For one of American's oldest cities who had more organized crime centered in it than most other cities in New England that none of his kind of people was almost an insult. But then again he was a Gotham boy at heart and he was just a tourist here anyway.

"How much longer are we going to just waste time here?" came a voice from behind him.

The Joker who had his feet up on a card table with all the loot while he was looking at a diamond just sighed leaning a bit further back in his chair. His head fell back so he could look at him upside down, with a frown on his face.

"You really need to lighten up you know," Joker said to him. "I mean we're going to put on a nice little show for New York and the least you could do is just get into the act. I mean I left enough clues back there to practically scream 'Joker' and if this boy is as bright as people claim then he should at least get it."

"I don't like just sitting around you know that girl is here and what if she finds us?"

"Why do you think I had the lads put in those led lined pieces of metal on the ceiling?" Joker asked pointing up to pieces of metal that had been jury rigged to the ceiling.

"Besides where's you love for drama? Every big joke needs a great build up for the punch line you know-augh!"

Joker was hauled out of his chair and over the head of his temporary partner, "I told you before clown I want to get this over with I don't like just sitting around."

"Okay-okay! We're just setting up the trap now just take a chill pill or whatever you do and just calm down."

He put the joker down and the clown readjusted his clothing glaring at the man, "And they say I have people skills problem. Don't worry you'll get the chance to kill the girl and then you can send her head to her cousin with your regards."

"She escaped from me last time thanks to that Spider-Man but this time I will not fall for the same trick twice."

"Yeah whatever just remember the bug boy is mine." Joker told him sternly before going back to his stolen gains.

**-Cadmus-**

Doctor Octopus was working in his personal lab this time, he was reviewing the clones and their behaviour from the mission tapes he had been given and something made him smirk as he started to plan something out. Thankfully he had full access to them although he stayed away from the Parker clone until the young clone was ready to see him. He called the security people to bring him the clone known as Power Boy for a check up on his genetics. It wasn't a total lie as that clone was one of the more experimental ones but he had another reason to call him up.

He waited until the clone was brought to his lab and turned to smile at the taller boy, "Ah good to see you now I'm not sure if the nice security guard told you why you're here but I just needed to run some tests to see how you're doing."

"Well okay then," Power Boy said and sat down in a chair that the doctor told him to sit in.

"So have you had any strange experiences? Tiredness, weakness, shortness of breath, shakes or anything else strange going on?" Octavius asked the man as he started to exam him. He started off by running a genetic scanning device over the boy that Cadmus came up with a few months ago.

"Well not that I noticed," he said trying to think on anything that could have happened.

"Well that's good to hear then," he smiled as he continued scanning, "so I hear you met the League not too long ago how did that turn out?"

"It went...as well as could be expected I suppose," Power Boy admitted.

"Would you ever so kindly tell me what you thought about them?" He asked.

"They were all heroes and of course suspicious of us but that's to be expected but I got to see her."

"Her who?"

"Uh...well..."

"Don't worry you can tell me anything so please kindly tell me how you feel about her."

"She's the most amazing and beautiful woman I've seen, her hair is like gold and her eyes are a sky blue. She's just amazing...but then _he_ had to be in the way," he said sourly.

Octavius grinned as he started up with a new device to take hair samples for DNA testing, "Sounds like someone is in your way with being with a girl you like."

"She would never go for me as long as he's there so there's no point," he said not wanting to talk about this. For some reason he was starting to wonder why he was just talking so easily to this man but he just felt compelled to talk to him like he was just someone he could trust for some reason, he didn't understand it though but every time he tried to question it he just seemed to push it aside.

"I'm going to offer you some advice young man and you can take it or leave it but I hope that you ever so kindly take my advice to heart. Maybe you should deal with him then, or maybe just show her that you're the better man. If you really like this girl then make her yours do whatever it takes until she is after all that's what would make you happy." He smiled at him.

For a long moment Power Boy didn't say anything as the words just bounced around in his head he couldn't explain it but for some reason he was finding the ideas more and more to his liking. He found himself actually agreeing with what the man was saying. After awhile the doctor said that he was done and he got up and made his way to the door as he was left thinking on a lot of things.

"Oh and would you tell Zoom to come and see me we have some things to talk about," Octavius told him.

"Of course sir and...thank you for the talk," Power Boy stated.

Octavius smirked as he caste a quick glance to the small remote device that was keeping tabs on him, _'Take that Waller, you can see me but can you figure out what I was doing? Did you notice the phrase word that puts them under my power of suggestion? Well by the time you do figure it out it will be far too late.'_

**Next up Chapter 28: A Two Man Show**

**Okay I gave another hint a few got who the Joker's partner is so let's see if you can guess without cheating by reading the reviews lol.**


	28. A two man show

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 28: A Two Man Show**

Peter was feeling tired and for good reason, for the past few days he had been searching all over for where the Joker could be hiding himself. So far he was checking all the usual places that the Joker was known to hang out he had checked. Old fun houses, fairs, factories that used to make joke products and anything else that he could think up and so far nothing. He was starting to wonder if he was wrong about it being the Joker, although another robbery showed up.

Same things and even more joke props turned deadly had been used. Apparently a package had arrived to the store and when the owner opened it, he found a whoopee cushion. Of course as soon as the box opened it released a green gas into the air knocking everyone out. So any doubts were pretty much gone at that point.

Peter got back to the apartment feeling drained, he pulled off his mask and went to the couch and just fell into it wondering what he was missing. He managed to find Livewire last time but there wasn't much he could use to track the Joker like he had with her. He sighed looking up at the ceiling he just couldn't understand how a guy with a pale face, green hair and dressed like a clown could not go noticed. Then he remembered he lived in New York and the answer to that question was obvious.

He heard the door to Kara's room open as she walked in also in costume, "Sorry no luck today Peter."

"Man not even with x-ray vision?" He asked her.

She crossed her arms and gave a pouty face that he found cute on her, "No. Stupid clown is most likely hiding somewhere with a lot of led to hide himself."

"Damn so much for the easy way," Peter said. They had figured that with her powers she could quickly scan the city for signs of the Joker but so far they had searched all day and still nothing to show for it. He was running out of ideas, and they could only search for so long between work and classes. They both reported that they couldn't get away from New York to the League so they wouldn't worry about that unless they were really needed.

"This sucks how does Batman do this all the time?" she said frustrated.

"Have you tried calling up Barbara, she works with him a lot after all."

She shook her head, "No she's been really busy lately."

"Oh with what?"

"With...personal stuff," she said to him. She wasn't sure if Babes wanted her new relationship with Speedy public or not. She had to admit things didn't work out as he originally planned but Barbara was really happy lately and deep down that's what she wanted. Barbara had been seeing a lot of Speedy, she hoped that things worked out this time. On the other hand it was hard to get in touch with her as she was out on dates more too.

Peter looked a bit interested but he was too tired to get into that, although he did file that away for later.

"Well how about we just space out on TV then?" He asked as he picked up a remote.

"Cool, maybe there's a movie on or something," she said taking off her boots and throwing them on the ground and sighed. She may be invulnerable but those boots after a long time got all hot and moist after awhile. She wiggled her toes feeling better at having more freedom.

Peter went through the channels he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going. All he wanted was something nice and relaxing to look up to wide down the night. Then while looking around the stations there was suddenly one of those bulleting announcements on the screen. You know the kind that show up for testing the emergency broadcast system or something but there was something odd. It was on ever station and it looked like a cheaply painted on sign that someone was holding up.

"The hell is this?" Peter asked out loud leaning forward and checking a few other stations.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovely late night TV but we bring you an emergency announcement." Came a familiar voice.

Peter knew that voice and groaned, "Oh crap you got to be kidding me."

The self made sign was thrown away as the camera pulled back to see an image of the Joker there laughing, "Hello New York, for those of you that aren't familiar with me I'm the Joker. But trust me you'll all be familiar with my work very soon, and special shout out to all my fans from Gotham that just might be here. You thought moving could save you from me but I'm a joke that just won't go away."

"Okay it's official, I hate all clowns now," Peter grumbled as he reached for his mask and Kara went to get her boots.

"I swear I'm going to make him eat that stupid coat of his," she muttered to herself pulling on a boot.

The Joker was in some kind of electronic area although there was really no to really tell where it was exactly. "Now to all my friends in TV Land, I want to show you all the prime time debut of Joker in the City. We'll have laughs, drama and if possible some tragedy for your very own super hero bug."

"Again with the damn bug comment!" Peter shouted out putting on his mask, "Maybe I should change my name or get flash cards to show these guys."

"If only we knew where this idiot was," Kara said finished dressing.

"And for a certain wall crawler this is me throwing down the gauntlet," Joker said pointing at the camera. "You mess with my business in my town once too often, so I'm going to return the favour. For those of you watching the device I'm about to show you is one of my famous Joker gas bombs."

The image panned to show a green tank with a laughing face painted on it.

"Now this will release my special happy gas making one of the most angry towns in the world into a nice smiling metropolis...that is if anyone survives," he finished with a laugh.

"Oh crap this isn't good I've read what that stuff does," Peter said worried. He knew that gas had a way of making your face have a permanent smile like his on a person's face and could cause a person to literally laugh themselves to death.

"If you want to rumble come to Times Square and get ready to rumbbbbbbllllleee!" He laughed.

"Okay I smell trap how about you?" Peter asked her.

"Totally but that's why I'm going to come along."

"Oh yeah nothing like having a super powered girlfriend to watch your back," Peter smiled as they went to the nearest window to quickly get to Times Square. They went there quickly as they agreed that Peter would go in first and Kara would come in and surprise Joker when she had an opening. Peter could already see that many people had seen the broadcast and Times Square was a mess. People were panicking trying to get out of the area and the cops couldn't get in because of it.

He went looking to where the Joker was and he didn't have to look far, up on the building where they would drop the ball every New Year's was a figure who looked to be enjoying things. He quickly swung himself up to the level and landed onto the wall behind the person.

"Joker you really are becoming a major pain in my ass," Peter said to him.

The Joker turned around, "Ah Spider-Man. Glad to see you made it in such good time."

"Yeah well swinging over the city avoids major transportation issues. And just to let you know your TV show sucks."

"Everyone's a critic in this town apparently."

"Oh and on camera those pants really make you look fat too," Peter jumped down and prepared to fight when his spider sense kicked in and he jumped off the ground just in time. He saw that the metal plating had been electrified.

"Damn and here I was hoping to get you a hot foot," Joker said pulling out a remote. "But no matter I still can have a gas." He grinned.

Peter's eyes widened as he was about to push the button, he fired his webbing snagging his hand. Just then a blur came and the remote was gone from his hand and floating there not far away was Supergirl smirking at him.

"Lose something?"

"Awww, no one said you could bring your girlfriend this was just to be us boys," Joker said in a mock pout.

That put Peter off as he was expecting something like a ranting and raving response to this. "Okay what's the punch line laughing boy?

"Well here's the thing," Joker smiled at him, "I know I'm a solo act but every great comedy duo has had one straight man and one who tells the jokes. And well you know who I am, and just my luck I found the ultimate straight man for my routine."

Peter wasn't sure what he was getting at but then he felt that familiar buzzing sound in his head and turned to face Kara, "Supergirl look out, he's not alone!"

"What?" Kara said looking around only in time to see a green light hit her. She cried out in sudden pain surprised that it hurt so much. Her body felt like it was on fire and she felt weak, there was only one thing that could do that to her. She fell to her knees on the ground, her head swimming.

"Remember me Supergirl?"

She looked up and out from the shadows walked out Metallo, she hadn't seen him in nearly a year since the last time they fought in Metropolis. His face was still only half covered in the fake organic looking substance that resembled the face he had when he was human. With it she could see the expression on his face.

"I'm going to enjoy this." He said kicking her off the rooftop making her fall down to the ground below. He jumped down after her not wanting her to get a second wind back before the kryptonite wore off.

"Supergirl!" Peter shouted and was too distracted to notice the Joker's hand gripping the webbing. The electric buzzer he had on it gripped the webbing as he tore it off him. He went a shot of electrical energy through the webbing and he cried out in pain before blacking out. The last thing he remembered hearing was the Joker's insane laughter as the world turned dark.

**-Cadmus: Gemini Section**-

Team Gemini as they were now called was having a nice afternoon off. They had just finished up with stopping a military coup of a nation that had strong economic ties with America, both saving the democracy of that country and also ensuring a strong political alliance as well. So Guardian thought they deserved a well deserved break. Well some of them were taking a break, Hawkwoman was flying in the air space of their base. She hated the underground complex because she always felt too confined. She stated that she felt like a bird in a cage at times so they let her out to fly now and then when she wanted to.

By now the team could come and go as they pleased as long as they let Cadmus know where they were going. Most likely so that they could keep an eye on them from afar but Guardian said they needed to feel like they were part of Cadmus and not prisoners in order to keep them happy. Waller agreed that the clones would tell them where they were going and reported back before a certain time.

So the team had been going out into the world now and then improving moral. At the moment in their break room area sitting on the couch were the two youngest members of the team Superboy and Miss Martian. The teenage clones of Superman and female clone of the Martian Manhunter were relaxing the way most teens their age did, playing video games.

At least Superboy was as he was trying to explain to the girl how to play and what the games were about. He had bought the games and system with the money that Cadmus paid them, they might be clones but they did need money when they went out.

"Okay look it's simple really," Superboy said to the green skinned girl. "We go around blasting these aliens that are trying to take over the world."

She looked at the control device in her hands biting her lip, "Isn't that kind of...odd for us to play this?"

"Huh, what do you mean?" Superboy asked her as he was playing.

"Well aren't we aliens?"

"Well...okay sure but we're the good aliens. These are the bad ones and besides if this actually happened we could go kick their asses anyway so think of it like, well training." He suggested going back to the game.

He noticed that she looked uncertain and he mentally sighed out of all of them she always seemed to be the most insecure and shy one out of the group. Personally he didn't have that problem he knew that he was a clone of Superman and he felt a bit proud but also hated it as well. It was very complicated and one thing he hated was when they compared him to that man. Okay sure he didn't have the super strength but his other power made up for it, and he couldn't seem to get his x-ray vision to work (no matter how hard he tried to peek into the girl's changing rooms) and his heat vision so far was none existent too.

He hated the fact that he felt like he was just some half completed piece of work, he wasn't even a perfect clone. He didn't even have a real name at the moment just Superboy but it was one of the few things he had to hold on to. He did go out and have some fun and used an alias but he still didn't find a name that fit him.

He put that all aside for the moment as he just played his game, he didn't like to think about things like this anyway they depressed him and he didn't want to spend his life brooding anyway. He was already a teenager so his life was already cut a bit shorter than normal anyway.

At that moment the large doors slide open and in walked Galatea and Kaine hand in hand. It was a sight that took a little getting used to seeing them as a couple but the team quickly got over it. They were in more civilian clothing as they liked to go out now and then to just be alone with each other. Galatea had actually never felt happier in her life, it was strange how strongly she felt for Kaine. He made her happy and the moments they shared had been something she never thought actually existed. The times he held her made her feel a warmth that she could just lose herself in and then there were the other things as well.

The times they spent in each other's beds were amazing she never experienced anything like it.

Kaine also had to admit that things were going fairly well for him, he didn't feel as angry anymore for starters. His team were odd but he was growing to like them but the best part about this life had to be the blonde woman he was with. Although he did have memories of other relationships he only thought of her, this was his first relationship for himself and he wanted to enjoy it.

He knew what his origins were but slowly he was feeling more at place here as time went by. He was getting to know the others as they were coming into their own lives as well. Plus being in a real relationship did wonders for you, making him feel more like a real person.

As they walked into the room he noticed the two alien clone teens on the couch and how they were doing. He had to admit they were pretty good friends so far, they were complete opposites. He was brash, in your face attitude and outgoing. She was reserved, a bit shy and polite. They complimented each other well, for a moment he was reminded of the memories Peter had of Gwen Stacey and himself. It was close to that same kind of bond they had, of friends and in a way like a brother and sister type of relationship before her death.

"Don't you two ever get out?" Galatea asked them.

"Sure we do, but I got a new game and I wanted to play it." Superboy smiled as he continued playing.

"Forget it he's been playing it for over two hours now."

Galatea and Kaine looked to see Powerboy sitting in a chair reading a magazine. They hadn't noticed him there given that the way the chair was set up he had been hidden from view.

"Come on kid get off I wanted to see what's on and you know the rule about hogging the TV," Kaine told him.

"Oh come on I'm nearly done the level," he replied. Then Galatea picked him up by the back of his shirt and gave him a cold glare in the eyes. He thought about a snappy come back but decided that he didn't want her to trash his new game. "Alright fine then, come on let's see if we can find something else to do, M'gann."

"Um, okay sorry about this everyone," she said to them while leaving after her friend.

Kaine sighed and sat down switching the TV off the game setting so he could watch what was on. Galatea sat down next to him.

"Think we went overboard?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "Can't let him become a vegetable playing nothing but games. Besides they both need to get out more and find themselves like we all have been doing lately."

She nodded, he did have a point. They all had been working hard on establishing their own lives separate from the people that gave them their origins. They all were working to make their own memories and experiences, and finding their own name as well. They just sat there as he flicked through the channels until something caught their interest.

They caught the same pirate signal that the Joker was using the jam all of New York's stations, only since they only got a few channels from New York only a few channels would have that same image. They caught the end of the broadcast but where Spider-Man and Supergirl had left the Joker kept going. They watched as there was a live feed about what was happening in New York.

They watched when Spider-Man showed up and then Supergirl as well. They watched not really sure how to feel about this, after all they both had reasons to hate them. They had everything while they had to fight to gain just a fraction of what they had in life, and some things they would never have. They would never have had a normal life, had a childhood or anything that went with growing up. Kaine also had all those memories that weren't his own and it wasn't fair to be tortured by them.

Galatea watched as well, she never liked Supergirl and she still owed her for nearly killing her the last time they met. Plus the little incident she tried to caused when they last met too, Guardian wasn't too happy and was looking into her past. Thankfully she knew that Waller would keep him from learning too much about the truth.

They didn't notice Powerboy walking up behind them he was interested in this for other reasons. One was that he was secretly hoping the Joker would win, with Spider-Man out of the way he had a clear shot with Supergirl. And then she came in, she was just as beautiful as when he first saw her image. The good Doctor's words rang in his ears and he wanted so much to go there to see her. But just when it seemed they had the upper hand a green beam came out.

He nearly cried out but held himself when she cried out in pain as a Cyborg looking man walked into view. He said something and then jumped off as the Joker took out Spider-Man.

"Well looks like they're in for some trouble," Galatea smirked.

Kaine nodded his head, "Yep I wonder if the League is watching this?"

"Only if they're lucky, what do you think Powerboy, think they'll make it?" She asked behind her.

"Powerboy?" She asked again looking behind her and didn't see anyone there. She frowned at that wondering when he left, she had been sure that he had been there the entire time or did he leave before the broadcast or during it?

"When the hell did he leave?" Kaine asked noticing her turning around so he did the same.

"Don't know."

"Oh man I hope he's not going to do something stupid." He groaned.

"What do you mean?"

"He's got a major crush on Supergirl for some reason," he told her. He saw her surprise and it wasn't well known. He had gone to his room to get him for a meeting and while he went inside he had noticed that there had been a small folder opened with lots of pictures of Supergirl. He didn't say anything as Powerboy hadn't noticed him spotting it but he had kept his mouth shut.

It wasn't his business but now that he left after seeing Supergirl take a fall he was starting to think that maybe they should have gone with him, if only to keep him out of trouble.

**-New York-**

Peter groaned feeling every part of him aching he was trying to remember what exactly happened. One moment he was with Kara and Joker and the next thing he knew his arms hurt and his head was killing him. He felt like he was swaying for some reason and tried to get his eyes to open up.

"Oh man what hit me?" he muttered to himself.

"Oh about a few hundred volts or is it amps I can never remember any of this electrical stuff. I only know that if you put in enough juice you can fry someone," the Joker's voice was heard.

As he opened his eyes it all came back to him with the Joker and then Metallo showing up. He snapped his head up remembering seeing Supergirl falling. He looked around and he saw Joker but he didn't see Metallo or Supergirl anywhere until he looked at the big screens on New York. They were showing a fight and from the looks of it Supergirl was losing. Metallo was keeping the kryptonite open just long enough to keep her weak but also kept her strong enough for a fight.

He was pummelling her with his metallic fists and he could already see some bruising and her mouth bloody. He tried to struggle free but his wrists were chained up over his head as he was suspended off the ground. The Joker slammed his electric buzzer into his chest, the fiery pain that hit him made him cry out.

"I don't think so, just sit back and enjoy the show. But personally I don't think she'll last the full ten rounds in fact she looks like she just might drop dead any moment now," he said laughing at him.

Peter glared at him behind the mask trying to work his body but that jolt even though lesser than the one before was making it hard. His nerves were trying to unfry themselves and he couldn't stand to see Kara being beating like that. Apparently Metallo was making this personal dragging out the fight and punishing her. He had to stop him, if only he could get free but the only question was how?

**Next up Chapter 29: Unexpected Help.**


	29. Unexpected Help

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 29: Unexpected Help**

Peter struggled against his bonds but looking up he could see that the cables he was tied up with were pretty strong. It would take awhile to get free from them, but that wasn't his immediate concern. What did was the giant screens of Times Square that the Joker had set up to show Metallo fighting Supergirl. He could see that Kara was trying her best but with Metallo using the kryptonite to weaken her it wasn't a fair fight. He was taking his time trying to take her apart and he was being forced to watch. He couldn't watch this happen again. Flashes to the tape he found of Doctor Octopus holding up a weak, helpless Kara.

Images of him holding MJ who was dying in his arms, the images of Gwen's funeral also entered into his mind and for a moment he thought of Kara being laid to rest. He had seen so many that he loved die and he couldn't take another death so soon. He wouldn't accept that Kara might get killed and he would be damned if he was just going to hang here and watch this. So he started to struggle even more putting everything he could into it.

Unfortunately the Joker was there and he wasn't going to let him try to get out. He slammed the electric buzzer again into Peter and he shouted out in pain from the electrical energy that was being pumped into his body.

"I don't think so, you're going to hang there and watch the show," Joker grinned at him evilly, then shocking him again just because he could.

"You know I wonder how many more rounds the kid can last," Joker laughed looking at the scene on the screens. "I got to admit she's got spunk but I don't think the kid will go the full ten rounds. Oh look at that vicious right cross there by the main man of steel. I think we're about to see a title change here from the poor kid."

"You know you suck as a colored commentator," Peter said to him. "I mean hell you're pale as a ghost."

The Joker turned quickly and then threw a punch right at Peter's gut. "I do the jokes around here and the last laugh is the one the Joker always gets."

"You mean besides when Batman kicks your ass?" Peter said getting another punch for it. He could deal with it but what he was more worried was about was Kara.

Kara had better days, she had even had worse days but today was defiantly a bad day. When they had gone after the Joker the last thing either her or Peter expected was him to have had some major backup. She felt the cold metal of a fist strike her face as she was knocked back into a car. Her body was strong enough not to die from such a blow and the car curved inward but it hurt. It really hurt, at this level she would guess she was somewhere around Peter's abilities but that wasn't the major problem.

Every time she started to feel better, Metallo would open up his chest and the radiation of the kryptonite hit her. She felt sick and dizzy with that radiation poisoning her, so it was hard to stand. Already the blows she got were aching and her jaw and cheek hurt too. Her body was trying to heal the injuries but with the kryptonite it was slowing things down along with the new injuries she was getting.

'_Damn it get up and fight girl,' she told herself pushing out of the car and that hadn't been as easy as it used to. '_I really hate kryptonite. '_I swear why don't we just look and pick up every piece and just throw it into the sun?'_

She was in pain and she was weak but there was no way she was going down. Metallo tried to throw a punch and she jumped to the side dodging the blow. She smirked as the lessons in fighting she got from Donna as they trained together came rushing back. Fighting someone like Donna had shown her that brute strength didn't mean much against someone as strong as you. Donna had spent years training to be a warrior and Kara knew that in a fair fight she wasn't a match for the young Amazon. So she wanted to improve and Donna had been training her in fighting arts when she could.

She got up and blocked a punch with her forearm and then slugged him in the jaw with her other. His head snapped to the side and although her hand hurt from the contact she smiled that she was still giving him a fight. But there was a problem, she was feeling pain but Metallo didn't feel anything. His body didn't feel pain or even pleasure and in a fight that gave him an advantage. His head snapped back without a hint of him slowing down and kicked her in the ribs. She grunted as she went back a few feet but was still standing, although her legs were shaky.

"And to think here you are one of the most powerful heroes on the world and you're powerless against me," Metallo gloated dodging a weakened punch and sending a backhand against her head. She fell down although she was trying to get back up, so he put his foot on her back forcing her down.

"I wanted to do this to Superman but you'll be nice practice for me," he opened up his chest again as she cried out in pain from the green energy washing over her. He increased the pressure feeling her being crushed into the ground. "I think after I kill you, I'll take your cape and send it to Metropolis in care of Superman. Something to remember you by and a hint of things to come."

Kara felt her chest starting to burn for air, her chest was hurting from the road digging into it and her back from the heavy weight being driven into it. But she refused to go down, she planted her hands to the side and she fought back as hard as she could. She couldn't die here and not by someone like him, she still had things to do and she knew Peter was still in danger as well. Even if he could take care of herself she didn't want to leave Peter. He had suffered enough as it was and she knew how her death might kill him.

She used that to fuel herself, to give her the strength to push. She pushed and kept on pushing no matter how much her body protested and how much it hurt. She cried out pushing with everything she had and managed to find the strength to throw him off her back. She heard him fall and rolled away gasping for air. She knew she didn't have plenty of time, no matter how much she wanted to just rest she willed herself up.

There was no way she was going to let this guy get the better of her. She looked around for something that she could use against him. She remembered how Peter had used his webbing to rip the kryptonite core out of him, so maybe she could do something similar. If she had something that she could jab into this chest piece and smash up the rock he'd lose power. It would leave pieces of it on the ground totally exposed but while he was most likely worrying about that, she could get far enough away for her body to recover.

The only problem was that she couldn't find anything that was good enough for it. Either things were too large to fit or not strong enough. She needed something like a metal pole from a street sign or something but she was in the middle of the street at the moment.

She dodged another punch and tried to throw herself to the side but he caught her cape and threw her back to where she was. She tried for a kick from the ground but he caught it and drove an elbow into her knee. She cried out in pain, it wasn't broken but with a little more force it would have been. She had forgotten that before Metallo became a cyborg he had been a mercenary, he had more hand to hand combat experience then she might ever get.

"Well this has been fun but I think it's time to end this," Metallo said as he picked up a car. "It's been fun and don't worry as soon as I'm done I'm sure the Joker will be sending your boyfriend up there to join you soon enough."

Kara glared up at him wishing she had enough energy for her heat vision but she was too weak.

'Peter...I'm sorry,' she thought. She didn't want Peter to see this, to see another person he cared for die. She felt like such a failure at this moment as she watched Metallo raise that car over his head. She prepared for the blow to come. But just as soon as the car was coming down it was suddenly pulled up and out of Metallo's hands.

"What!?" he looked up and Kara saw the car used to bat away the killer cyborg.

"Well...this is unexpected," Kara muttered to herself.

Peter hurt all over, his muscles were strained from trying to get out of the cables and he hurt all over form the Joker's shocks from him trying to get out. Plus he was getting a major headache from his laughter too. If he got out of this he swore he would never like any clowns again in his life.

"I swear when I get out of this I'm going to wipe that grin off your face," Peter told him.

"Ha, that's a good one. But it looks like your little girlfriend won't last much longer so what do you say? Should I spare you the poor sight of you seeing her killed or just kill you here and now?" The Joker grinned at him holding up a gun to his face.

Peter gritted his teeth under his mask as he glared at the clown. Normally he would have some kind of com back line or something but honestly he just wasn't feeling like it at the moment. Well he didn't until he managed to catch sight of something and he grinned under his mask.

"Hey Joker what's black and blue and about to kick your ass?" He asked him.

"Don't you mean black and white and red all over?"

"No he meant what he said," a new voice called out.

Joker turned around quickly and got a pair of feet slammed into his chest. The Clown Prince of Crime was sent across the hard surface, rolling until he hit a railing. He shook his head to see who it was and groaned.

"Oh great the Jr. Batman, I thought you'd be too busy being in the Bat's shadow to come here." He said.

Nightwing looked down at him, after Alfred was able to get in touch Dick had been the one to quickly get to New York as fast as possible. He figured that Peter would need the help personally and he was right. He had been on his way to Peter and Kara's place when he caught the TV broadcast that was going out all over the city. He rushed here to get here as fast as he could and by the looks of things he managed to get there in time.

He never did like the Joker, the guy always gave him the creeps and also he was a royal pain in the ass too. He saw Peter hanging there looking worse for wear and decided that with the two of them they could get rid of the Joker faster and then help Kara out sooner. He got a few of his razor sharp boomerangs that were based on the baterangs and with one hand threw them at Peter. They cut into the cables, they didn't cut through the entire way but when Peter saw it he tried to start pulling again. The cuts had weakened the cables as they started to give out and he grunted as he gave one last large pull and they snapped as he fell to the metal ground.

"You okay?" Nightwing asked him.

"I'll live," Peter said getting up.

Joker sighed, "You know you weren't invited to this little party but since you're here I might as well enjoy myself, actually I usually do enjoy myself."

With that he threw out several playing cards, both Peter and Dick knew well enough to stay clear of the razor sharp cards as they flew past them.

"We can't drag this out," Peter told Dick, "Kara still needs our help."

Nightwing nodded as he knew what Peter meant. They charged the clown who was still grinning at them. Just as they were about to reach him he jumped up, normally that wouldn't be a problem but somehow he managed to put springs on the bottom of his shoes. He laughed as he launched himself into the air and landed above them.

"Piece of advice, metal is a bad place to be at the moment," Joker said slamming his joy buzzer against a metal pole.

Peter's spider-sense kicked in and he was able to notice that the metal that Joker was touching was connected to where they were standing. Peter yelled out to jump and Nightwing jumped off the building as he used the gliding material he had to glide off the building. Peter however could jump up to meet the Joker.

"Uh oh the angry boyfriend," Joker said backing away.

"I'm really going to enjoy this," Peter said jumping to grab Joker. He didn't care about the jokes or anything else that he normally did. All he knew that the sooner he could beat him and sooner he could help Kara. He would be there right now but leaving the Joker to shoot him in the back wasn't a good idea, no matter how much he wanted to help.

He had to avoid a punch of what looked like candy balls although the buzzing in his head told him they were anything but that. He jumped out of the way as they exploded, at that moment Nightwing was able to glide back to them and rushed at the clown. Joker took a punch but he kneed Nightwing in the gut and then kicked him away. He ducked as Spider-Man jumped at him and then over him.

Peter had to dodge a punch and so he threw a left hook at the Joker, but he caught that hand and Peter felt pain as the Joker's palm had that damn joy buzzer again. He pulled back his hand cradling it in pain as the Joker saw a tool box that had been left behind. He picked up a large wrench and hit Peter in the shoulder with it. Peter stumbled to his feet grunting as he felt the pain flair up in his shoulder.

Joker raised the tool over his head ready to swing down when Nightwing jumped and slammed into the Joker's torso. They both hit a railing but the explosion had weakened the bonds to the building. Both of them started to fall as the railing gave way as they tried to hand on. Dick to the railing that was only hanging on by a piece and the Joker to Nightwing.

"Come on you bird brain can't you pull us up any harder?" Joker said to him.

"I could just kick you off and save my own ass you know," Nightwing said.

"Hey now no need to get nasty, we're all friends here," Joker said smiling at him. Although Nightwing knew as soon as they got up the Joker would backstab him as soon as he could. Although that was a moot point as the railing started to make metal shrieking sound as it finally tore itself off the building. Both Nightwing and Joker started to fall down to the streets below.

Peter had seen them go and forced his body to move, he wouldn't have much time as they weren't that high up but they were sure enough high enough for them to go splat when they hit. He jumped off and saw the two of them heading quickly to the bottom. He breathed a sigh of relieve when Nightwing managed to get a grapple hook free from his equipment and managed to stop his descent. So that left the Joker to Peter. He fired his webbing and managed to snag the Joker on the way down as his webbing started to wrap all around his body. Peter stuck his feet to the side of the building as the Joker hit the walls and bounced a few times.

"Well you just hang here while I go help out Supergirl," Peter said sticking the webbing to the wall and jumped off to help Kara.

"Hey you can't just leave me hanging!" Joker shouted at him trying to get out of the webbing but it was too tight and too strong as he struggled twenty feet over the ground.

Kara looked up surprised to see a boy her own age in a black costume, she remembered him from that Gemini team that Cadmus made, the one that had been giving her strange looks. Although she wasn't sure what to think about this team, at the moment she was glad to see anyone that was trying to help her out. She managed to pull herself up into a standing position, although it was on shaky legs as she favoured her injured one.

Powerboy looked down at Metallo as he glared up at the teen.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded. This wasn't in the plan there was no mention of anyone like this in New York.

"Powerboy, not that you'll be around long enough to remember it," Powerboy said as he quickly flew into the cyborg and smashed into him. They both hit the road hard making a giant impact as material and a cloud of dirt shot up from them. There were sound of fighting but Kara couldn't see anything through the dust. Then there was an eerie sounds as energy was seen by her and Metallo's form came flying out of it looking scorched.

Powerboy flew out of it as he kept on hammering the ex-mercenary. Metallo hadn't been expecting someone like this, he seemed to have powers that rivalled that of Superman or at least those in that kind of league. But he wasn't Kryptonian and he wouldn't be affected by his kryptonite and for some reason he seemed furious with him.

Metallo fought back as best he could but the boy was faster than he was and then he had some kind of energy based power that he couldn't see if it had any kind of range on him. He was already getting a pounding but he couldn't think of any way around this boy. He wasn't even sure if his own hits were doing anything to the boy. He was certain that he was hurting this mysterious hero but he didn't seem to care all that much about it.

"Kid I'm going to tare you to pieces and then I'm going to finish of the girl," he said to him.

That was the wrong thing to say to Powerboy, he glared with hatred at the man. Then in a split second he sped forward and smashed his hand right into Metallo's chest. He looked down surprised and then in fear as Powerboy ripped out the kryptonite and threw it away.

"Not again," he muttered looking at the hole in his chest as he fell forward onto the ground.

Powerboy gave him a small kick to make sure that he was out and quickly turned and went back to Supergirl. He saw that she was limping and went to help her to stand. He couldn't believe how good it felt just to touch her even though it was just to help out.

"Are you okay?" he asked her gently.

She gave a small smile to him and he felt his heart increase just by her smile as he smiled back.

"Thanks for the help, I never expected one of you guys to help us out," Supergirl said to him. It was the truth as she expected an entire team of killers and nut jobs given that Galatea was on their team. She had thought that the apple didn't fall far from the tree with them.

"Not everyone on the team is a bad guy," he told her helping her over to a bench where she could sit down properly. "In fact most of us are good guys we're just trying to find a place to fit in with the world."

Supergirl thought that over silently as she sat down and then she shot her head up wondering where Peter was. "Oh god the Joker is still there and he's got Spider-Man I got to help."

"Whoa you're not going anywhere like that, you're hurt." He told her stopping her from standing up.

"You don't understand I have to help him out," Kara told him worried sick about him as her head was clearing up. She felt the fog from the multiple hits to her head fading as well as the pain in her body as her body was starting to heal up again.

"Kara!"

She looked up and her face brightened as Spider-Man came down on the ground next to her. The two of them eager to see the other hugged each other as soon as they could. Powerboy looked on trying his best not to tare apart the red and blue clad hero. It wasn't fair, he was the one that had saved her and he never got that kind of attention. She deserved someone better, someone who would protect her when she needed someone. It was obvious that this Spider-Man couldn't do it so why did she go to him as soon as he arrived?

Powerboy's dark thoughts were interrupted when the two of them looked at him and a third member had joined in while he had been busy thinking on things.

"Nightwing," Kara said smiling at the older man, "I'm glad to see you here. I take it you helped out Peter?"

"Yep, we left Joker up there," He jerked his thumb to where the Joker was still tied up. "I came as soon as I could when I heard he was in town. Batman would have shown up but he couldn't get away so I decided to come and help."

"And man I'm glad that you did," Peter smiled under his mask. Then Peter looked at Powerboy not sure how he felt about the guy. He kept giving him bad vibes but the guy had come and saved Kara so maybe he was just being paranoid with the guy.

Peter came up to him and stuck out a hand, "Hey I know you most likely didn't have to help us but still thanks man."

Powerboy looked at the hand and turned his back to him. "I was just helping out no thanks are needed."

With that he flew up into the sky leaving Peter there with a hand out and looking confused at the sky. He dropped his hand finally going back to Nightwing and Supergirl.

"Well that was cold," Nightwing said.

"Yeah leaving me hanging there, what's his deal? I was just trying to be the nice guy after all." Peter said to him. At any rate he went over to Kara and asked how she was, she told him that her knee was still killing her and she was still weak from the kryptonite. So he picked her up bridle style, not that she complained as they made their way home as the cops were already moving in on the scene. Both of them were too tired and hurting to deal with anything else.

Nightwing smirked watching the two go off and decided he might as well see a bit of New York before he got back. Now that he thought about it maybe he could call up Kory and invite to meet him at New York, it had been awhile since their last date and he had matured a bit since his Robin days. One thing he learned was how to be in a relationship and he knew a few places that Starfire would just love. So he left the scene with a smile and left to find a phone.

**Next up chapter 30: Growing concerns**

**You know I've been thinking about it and with the lack of reviews this will be my last story of Ultimate Spider-Man in the JLU cartoon. Also I had more of the story planned out but with so little people interested I'm just going to end the story without all the extra stuff I had planned.**


	30. Growing Concerns

**Sorry for the wait I was on vacation and thanks to all the support the story will be a bit longer now.**

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 30: Growing concerns**

It had been a day after the Joker and Metallo were taken away and things were slowly getting back to normal with Peter and Kara. When the morning light hit Peter's face he groaned feeling all the aches and pains from the night before. He also felt a weight on his side and chest and looked to his left to see Kara sleeping on him. From the looks of it, the bruises were nearly all gone. Sometimes he wished he could heal as fast as her but he was just glad that she was safe. But he sure as hell wasn't feeling up for work today, he was thinking of calling in sick just so he could relax for a bit.

He sighed looking over back at Kara and with his free hand started caress her hair lightly, he had already lost so much and he had been very scared that night. Not for him, he had faced death so many times that he wasn't as scared as he used to be. Plus he did try to kill himself before arriving here, he had chosen death and ever since then death had taken on a new light for him. But it was her death that scared him, that he wasn't strong enough to save her. She wasn't supposed to worry about her but the fact was he did, because although she played herself of as invulnerable he knew she wasn't.

He worried at times when she took chances that she shouldn't but she was also very stubborn head on her shoulders. But that was one of the things he loved about her anyway, when you loved a person you loved a lot about them even the parts you don't like.

Kara stirred a bit as she shifted in her sleep. He hadn't meant to wake her but her eyes slowly started to open up. Kara groaned pushing her face into Peter's chest, even though she had been living on the Kent farm ever since she got to Earth, she wasn't a morning person.

"What time is it?" she muttered.

"Getting close to eight," Peter yawned.

"Can we sleep in?" Kara asked him. She really didn't want to move from this spot as she was way too comfortable at the moment.

"Got to call in sick from work since there is no way I'm feeling up for it, plus we're a mess." Peter said looking at the remains of their uniforms. They would have to really fix them up after the beatings they took. He could already see that she would need a new cape from his angle and he saw a few scorch marks on the front of his shirt.

Kara groaned in protests but she knew he was right, plus she did smell a bit. She pushed herself off Peter and rolled to her side swinging her legs over the bed. She stretched out feeling some of the aches and pains from last night. She wasn't used to feeling hurt like this, it always happened with the kryptonite. Kara really hated those damn rocks, it was so frustrating to be one of the most powerful people on the world but a small green rock took it all away. Her tongue ran over the fake tooth in her mouth, a habit she was forming to constantly check on it. Thankfully during the fight it hadn't been hit, unlike her other teeth that repaired like the rest of her body, this tooth was a lot more fragile.

She sighed as she stopped her tongue from checking on any damage, she was honestly thinking of just having them put red solar energy on her to perform a surgery to just remove it and close up the gums. It was in the back of her mouth so it's not like anyone would notice the gap, it was just so annoying to worry about it. If it broke she would have to go to the Tower to get it fixed and it was just a huge hassle. She had done that twice already and she didn't want to go get it done a third time.

"You know I was surprised that guy from Cadmus showed up," Peter said as he too was stretching himself out.

Kara nodded her head as she too never did expect help from that group. But something was wrong about it as well he seemed a bit too eager to help her but was cold to everyone else. It didn't really make sense to her why he was like that. Plus what was so special about her anyway? The more she thought on it the more strange it seemed that he seemed so worried about her. Did he have something planned for her, was it because maybe Galatea asked him to help her because she wanted a shot instead?

There were just way too many questions at the moment without any answers, plus she wasn't really in any shape to think at the moment. Her head still was throbbing and it was kind of hard to think at the moment with it. Maybe after some resting she could get back to it.

"Man I feel like I could use a nice long bath," Peter commented. Normally he was a shower person but a nice path to ease all the aches and pains sounded very nice at the moment.

"Oh yeah that's a great idea," Kara smiled, "You call in that we both got the flu or you know one of us is and the other is watching and I'll get it started."

Peter shrugged and went off to make the call to work, he was just glad that he had a lot of practice with this sort of thing. It wouldn't be any real trouble to call in sick besides people were known to call in sick when they weren't just to use up a sick day for a day off at any rate. Peter also couldn't help but think on things as he did this task. There were a lot of questions about this group that Cadmus made but so far this only gave more questions than answers. It just seemed that they needed a way to get more information on this group.

For starters, who was the one that was behind the cloning to begin with? Cadmus had shown that they could create clones but the last batch went totally unstable. If he hadn't come along it was a sure bet that Longshadow would be dead, so then how come Galatea didn't seem to suffer from any degradation? She was far older than the Ultimen were, or maybe she was the exception to the rule. He read up on Bizzaro and the other Supermen clones Lex Luthor did and failed at.

But something was just nagging him but he couldn't put his finger on it. Cadmus may have gotten lucky once but the next project failed, and now all of a sudden they get successes? What changed all of a sudden for them to get some kind of break through to get them to get an entire team working? He hated that they knew so little about Cadmus was that they had only an idea of who ran it but not enough of the key people who worked there. The League was just too into the dark and he hated that, Cadmus had an unfair advantage and they needed to find a way to correct that. They needed to either get someone on the inside or find some way of finding any way of gaining more information.

Kara got the tub ready filling it with hot water and added in some bubble bath just because she liked it. She stripped off the costume as she eased herself into the tub when it was ready, Kara sighed happily as she soaked in the water. She lifted a hand to play with the bubbles a bit. She heard Peter enter the room behind her and she turned around with a smirk on her face.

Peter had finished up and was now getting out of his now dirty uniform. He pulled off the shirt and was going for the pants when he stopped and looked at the bathtub. He lifted an eyebrow as he saw Kara there resting her head on her forearms as most of her body was in the water. She was grinning at him with her head tilted a bit to the side.

"What?" He asked.

"Can't a girl admire her man candy?" She said to him. "I'm just enjoying the show, Peter."

Peter shook his head as he stripped down for her, he wasn't sure where she was picking this up from but maybe he should look into who she was hanging out with recently. Although then again who was he to complain, he went to bed with THE Supergirl. Someone he knew that many males would give their left arm to be in his shoes at this moment. He slipped into the tub with her as she smiled and turned her back to him and pressed up against his chest as they settled into the tub together.

Peter closed his eyes feeling the warm water on his tired body and Kara pressed up against him. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she rested her head against his shoulder. For a moment they just sat there enjoying the time together. It was moments like this that Peter liked, the quiet moments were neither of them had to say anything they just enjoyed each other's presence.

**-Cadmus HQ-**

Amanda Waller was not having a happy morning. The first thing she learned when she got here was how Powerboy had gone AWOL for three hours to help two members of the League in New York. She wasn't sure why but she intended to find out. She had already told the security people to put Powerboy in a holding cell. She would let him rot in there until she was ready to see him, maybe some time in there would make him think on his actions. The clone had gone off without notifying security where he was going, and because of that she wasn't sure if something was wrong with him or it was symptom that all the clones would become rebellious.

The last thing she need was for them to become like the last team they had made.

But the first thing she needed to do was talk with Octavius and see if he knew if there were signs of the clones could be breaking down. So she had security go and fetch the good doctor and to bring him to her. The other clones were in lockdown in their section until she was certain that they were not a threat. Of course Guardian had called her telling her that they were not happy, but after she told him that one of his team had done he saw her point. He would keep the others calm but he also told her that whatever she was planning she better not take too long.

So she waited for Octavius to be brought to her, after ten minutes he was escorted into her large office by guards. She told the guards to wait outside as she stared coldly at him, she would let him stir for a bit. She wasn't sure if it worked but she had to make at least a gesture that she was the one in charge and she called the shots here. After a few seconds more of silence she broke it.

"When I took you out of prison one of the things you said you could do was to help make stable clones. Now I'm going to assume two things. One that you were lying or two that you're incompetent, either way I'm seriously thinking of sticking you back in a windowless cell and leaving you to rot there."

Doc Ock kept himself composed, although he would admit that the thought of being put back into jail was less than pleasant. He was getting so close to getting out of here but he had to be careful here, as he suddenly felt that he was now on a tightrope. If he overplayed his hand she wouldn't believe him, and if he underplayed she would think he wasn't as good as he said he was. He quickly prepared himself as he got ready to battle Waller again in a battle of wits.

"I take it something went wrong and you need me for answers," he said to her.

"One of your clones decided to ignore the protocols and run off." She said in a cold tone.

"Ah, might I ask which one and why he went?"

"It was Powerboy," she told him, "Apparently he thought it would be a good idea to go and help two League members. Not only did he leave the base without proper authorization and didn't tell anyone where he was going. I can't have them just going out on their own like this and if they are going to be a problem I want to know now."

"Well can I ask who it he was helping?" Although he had a pretty good idea of who and why as it was just another little part of his overall plan.

"Apparently he was helping Supergirl although it's not sure if he would have helped Spider-Man or not. Someone else came to his aid and I intend to ask him later when I interrogate him." Amanda Waller said.

"Ah," Doc Ock said nodding his head. "I might be able to fill in the blanks there for you. It has come to my attention that the boy if smitten with the girl. He apparently has feelings for her but it shouldn't be too much trouble if channelled in the right way."

"Too much trouble?" Waller said annoyed, "In case you forgot the reason why he's in a detention cell at the moment waiting for me to get to him?"

"Well yes, there is that. I suppose the boy is a bit motivated isn't he?"

"Look here Octavius, I've allowed this little romance between Galatea and Kain to progress because it's inside the team. They are working out well, they don't cause problems to the team and their teamwork is very good. Plus as long as one of them stays loyal to Cadmus it means the other will be as well."

"But this is unacceptable, he left and went off on his own and now I'm even more worried because of what I now his reasons are for it. I can't have him running off just because some crush of his is in danger. He can't be trusted and now I'm thinking that he might be a liability to the program."

"Perhaps I can talk to the boy, he seems to trust me and I could convince him to be a bit more logical in the manner?" Doc Ock asked.

"Octavius you're on thin ice as it is with me from not telling me about this sooner. Or should I tell Mr. Kane that you are here? I know that you've been avoiding him and have had no contact with the young man so I'm left to wonder just what his reaction will be to seeing your face here." Waller told him dangerously.

Octavius was struck silent by that, the last thing he needed was that boy angry at him. He was gaining progress in overcoming the fact he was a clone but a lot of old anger from Peter would still be going around in that head of his. He didn't want to take the chance that the clone would lost it and start throwing him into the walls. After all he did make all those other clones of Parker years ago and he was sure that Kain wouldn't like the fact that he was just another copied made by Doctor Octopus.

He knew that Waller in her own way was upping the stakes against him, using Kain to cow him into making sure that he could control Powerboy. He could but she didn't know just how much control he actually had over him. Although he did know that she suspected that he might have some way of making sure that the boy played by the rules and if he couldn't do that to the boy, then he would get a visit by a very angry clone. He had to admit the women when she knew what she wanted wouldn't stop at anything to accomplish what she wanted.

"I don't think that will be necessary Miss Waller," Doc Ock told her trying to put a little fear into his voice. Although it wasn't all that hard, he really didn't want to meet Kain because it would force his hand and he wasn't yet ready. He was close but until he was ready he had to still play along.

"See that you can make it clear to the boy that he is to follow the rules, or I may need to rethink my need for him to be on the team and your current employ here Doctor."

He knew that she was dismissing him and he gave a small nod of his head and went to leave. He could read between the lines, basically he had been given a little rope to hang himself with if he failed. Well he knew that the cell would be monitored so what he said would have to be tailored to make it seem like the made the boy come around to his way of thinking. A little use of the codeword as well to compel certain points would help too.

Although he had to admit the boy acted in a much more grand manner than he thought. Although it put him into trouble, it was the most perfect reaction he could have hoped for. If the compulsion did this much it showed how much power he actually had over them. Also he could use this to his advantage as well, just the right kinds of pushing and he'd have a weapon to use. And this weapon would cause so much distraction it would be easy to put his escape plan into action. He grinned as he walked to the boy's cell as he improved his plan along the way there.

**-Themyscira Embassy-**

Donna yawed as she got up, it was early morning but she didn't feel like sleeping in. Besides she had some things to take care of and she didn't want to put it off. She had a good last night and she was feeling like she was in a great mood. She was in a robe as the moment as she was in the kitchen getting ready for some breakfast. She had finally gotten used to the strange devices in this world thanks to her sister. It was amazing the things this world held and at times she felt like some savage with it all. Although the beauty of her homeland held no equal, the wonders of this world were hard to ignore. Her sisters had been left behind and all but forgotten and it always left her wondering if anyone would know of her people in a thousand years.

She started with the coffee, which to her was proof that the gods were still active. She already held plans to bring the bean to her island along with a few other plants as well. As the coffee started up she was wondering where her sister was, normally she was the first to wake up. Donna went to the shared bathroom thinking she might have slipped in but it was empty. She then went to her older sister's room and was surprised by what she saw.

There was her older sister, in a red dress, her hair slightly messy and holding her shoes and purse as she was just getting in. She was in the same clothing from last night and by the looks of it, she hadn't changed out of it. Donna smirked at her older sister crossing her arms.

"So why is my older sister sneaking into her own room at this early an hour?" Donna asked.

"Donna!?" Diana said startled.

"Yes, me." Donna smirked even larger. "So I take it the date with you and Bruce last night went very well."

Diana's face flushed a bit, "It went well."

Donna's eyes lit up, "You didn't."

"Did what?" Diana said going about her business as though nothing was going on. She had been surprised at first but now she had managed to collect herself. She smiled on the inside knowing that until Donna found out it would kill her inside.

"On come on don't do this you know that I hate it when you do this." Donna frowned at her. "Come on you went out with Bruce last night and here you are coming back the next day. Something had to have happened and I think that you spent a night in his bed."

For a moment Diana just went about stripping off her dress and putting on a robe as well as she put away her other items. Donna waited to see how her sister would react to her accusation, well not so much an accusation in a bad way. But this was big, after all no Amazon had taken a male to bed since before going to the island. And even then it was usually men they captured just to use for breeding before they got rid of them. Although the history was fuzzy on how they dealt with the males when they got rid of them.

Diana sighed seeing her sister was going to make a big deal out of it. "It's none of your business little sister, but yes. I did spend the night with Bruce."

Donna's face lit up as she clapped her hands together, "This is so great, what was it like? Was it great, how did it happen, how big is he?"

"Donna!" She shouted at that last part.

"What? It's what I've heard the other women in the League talk about when they talk about men." Donna said to her.

Diana rubbed her temples, "That's a private thing, but as for the rest."

Diana got a smile on her face thinking of last night, she and Bruce had only been starting to date officially now but so far she saw why people did it. There was something about it that was thrilling in a way. Each date was an unknown and brought many surprises, she had no idea that Bruce was the romantic type. Plus sometimes they did things they both liked mainly friendly sparring sessions were something they both enjoyed. Although she would admit the times they were pressed up against each other the sexual tension between them was very distracting.

But last night had been very special. It had been the night she had given up her virtue. She wasn't sure what would happen, a part of her feared that the gods might object and strip her of her powers. A childish fear but she had been told that a few times when she was younger by older Amazons. It was only until later she found out that they were just lying to her about it, to scare her off men.

Maybe she should share her experience with her sister after all she seemed to be getting along very well with Longshadow as well. In fact her little sister went out last night on her own so Diana was a bit curious how that went.

"I'll tell you over breakfast but only in return you tell me how things went with Longshadow last night," Diana told her.

Donna shrugged, "Sure I don't mind, although I didn't get to sleep with my man so my ending won't be as good."

Diana smiled and shook her head as the sisters went into the dinning room. "So you didn't lose your virtue up either?"

"Not for lack of trying," Donna muttered under her breath remembering the last time she tried to take things that far. In hindsight he had been right to put it off, she hadn't been in the right mindset and that just proved that he was a good man. He wasn't like how most of her sisters back on the island viewed males, in fact she was close to introducing him to her mother. Although there would be the awkward moment of him on the island and getting permission to even bring a male to that island again. That she knew wouldn't be easy, there had been way too many males visiting the island so soon and many of her sisters were a little uneasy about it.

As the two sisters sat down they started up their breakfast.

"So, who starts off?" Donna asked sitting down.

"I'll start then," Diana said as she started her story.

**Next up Chapter 31: Date Night**


	31. Date Night

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 31: Date Night**

**-Gotham City, Last Night-**

Diana had flown herself to Gotham to a nice hotel that she rented out, she had some work to do in Gotham for a charity event and it was the perfect time for her and Bruce to get some quality time in. He already told her that he was going to pick her up later that night. She had already showered and was putting on a nice red dress and the glasses as well. Her hair was done up as she put on some makeup, normally she didn't really use it but as Diana Prince it helped to make people see her in a different light.

She and Bruce had been going out a few times, both as her alter ego with Bruce and they had spent some time together in costume as well. Although when he was Batman he had to keep up certain appearances, the gods forbid if The Batman ever looked soft in front of people. She smirked at how she liked to flirt with him lightly in front of everyone. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to make him uncomfortable and she loved how he tried to keep his calm and cold exterior.

But now he was taking her out where they could be more carefree.

She was wondering where they would be going, turns out it was to this nice upscale restaurant. They even had dancing there and while eating and talking they spent the night dancing with him. She had to admit it was one of the things she had enjoyed with him ever since that time they first danced together before he admitted that he was Batman. Plus he was a really good dancer too it had been a very good night for the both of them.

After that they returned to his mansion after the dinner and the show, she was feeling a little relaxed from a few drinks. She wasn't drunk that's for sure, she remembered the onetime Shayera had convinced her to go out drinking back when it was just the seven of them. She had taken up the challenge of a drinking contest not knowing that some of the drinks were a lot stronger than wine made from grapes from her homeland.

Most of that night was a blur but she woke up at her room in the tower feeling like she had been dragged through the underworld. The entire day hadn't been pleasant and of course a villain had started trouble. She swore she would never get drunk again after that.

But that didn't mean she couldn't indulge a little now and then as long as she didn't go over a certain limit. Bruce seemed a little more relaxed as well, he had dropped the fake 'face' he sometimes wore as Bruce Wayne in public and she could see him as he truly was. They were going back to his home for the reminder of the night not that she minded. Although his home was largely empty it was still lived in, plus she adored Alfred and what he did to the place. He was driving them at the moment and she could swear the old gentlemen looked pleased that she and Bruce were together. See saw why he was so important to Bruce's life, he was like a father, confidant and so much more. She wondered if Tim would be home or out on patrol or with the new Titans again.

They came up to his massive home, going up the hill it was like going up to a fortress that overlooked the city of Gotham. If only people knew that their city's protector watched their city from above like some dark angel of vengeance. She smiled at the image Bruce was a protector unlike any other. He had no powers and yet he stood up to demons, monsters even gods without flinching. He was like a Spartan warrior, one who faced death with a grin and a sword who would never stop fighting until he died. Maybe that was one of the reasons she was so attractive to him, that powerful warrior image that she could respect.

Or maybe she had her mother's taste in men who had a dark past. She didn't want to go down that road she had a hard enough time knowing her father was Hades.

They stopped at the mansion as she was led inside they went to the living room area to relax a bit. She pulled off her glasses and she let her hair down, literally as she shook her head to free her hair as he went to get two glasses of wine from his private stock..

"That feels better," she sighed.

Bruce gave a small smile, "don't like to put on the 'mask' for too long right?"

"I don't know how Clark does it with the glasses," Diana said rubbing the bridge of her nose. "These glasses can be a real pain after awhile."

"Well it was your idea," he commented coming over with a drink for her.

"Yes but you have to admit that things are working out well," she said smugly as she took a sip of her wine glass. She had to admit that Bruce really knew his stuff, it was very excellent.

"I'll admit so far there haven't been many problems."

"So far?"

"Nothing's perfect."

She sighed as she took another drink, sometimes he could be such a defeatist. She knew that it was just a little way of him trying to keep some distance. She would admit that it hadn't been easy to get Bruce to open up to her. He always keep people from getting too close, but she knew the reasons why. He was afraid of feeling more pain that pain of loss that shaped his life. She knew that under all that was a heart that had been in so much pain for so long that he shielded it from the world.

But slowly she had been slowly getting past those defences and she noticed the he smiled a bit more, and these were honest smiles too even if they were small ones. She knew that he also had some less than good relationships. Diana had a few talks with Alfred and over time she had learned of a few of those women. There had been on that he nearly gave it all up for but she left him heart broken, then there was the woman that apparently turned out to be a robot, and then Catwoman and that Natalia woman too.

With so many painful endings to relationships it was a wonder he ever gave this a chance in the first place. But she was glad for it because even though his life was in darkness you can't live in the darkness the entire time. If she could be that light that he could look forward to with the dawn then she would be more than happy to be that light for him. Plus he filled a void in her that she hadn't known was there until she started to date him. She looked forward to seeing him and being with him, he challenged her and respected her and made her feel special.

They had been dating for awhile but tonight she wanted to take it to another level, she trusted Bruce more than most and she wanted to do something for awhile now and she could only do it with someone she trusted.

"Bruce?" She asked as she got a bit closer to him pressing up against him.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering do you think I could, stay the night?" she asked him.

Bruce had an idea of what she was asking after all he had more experience with women than most men. He could see the signs and signals coming from body language and the way people talked and right now he was getting a few very familiar ones. "Do I want to know where you want to sleep?"

"I was hoping with you, that is if you want," She asked him.

To answer her he reached down and kissed her, she wrapped her arms around him as she pulled him closer to her. She wasn't sure how but she found herself in his room as she felt him open the zipper of her dress as it fell to the floor, she helped him out of his shirt as she ran her hands over his muscular chest. She moaned feeling his lips on her neck as they were led to the large bed it was very soft as she placed herself on it and with Bruce's weight over her. She felt her heart hammering in her chest she was excited and nervous, excited because she and Bruce would consummate their relationship and nervous because it was her first time with a man.

She was worried that she wouldn't be any good after all, Bruce had had many lovers before her.

"Are you alright?" He asked her sensing her nervousness.

"I'm just nervous about this," she said honestly.

"We can stop."

"No, I want this." She told him taking his face in her hands as she pulled him down to kiss him fiercely.

When the she woke up she found herself on Bruce's naked chest, she could see the little scars from all over the years. Her hand lightly traced them all it was a wonder that he had cheated death so many times. She found that she didn't like the feelings of what would happen if his time finally came it would be a loss that she knew would harm her to her core. The thing was that she knew that she could very well out live him she was already older than he was thanks to the immortality given to the Amazons on the island.

But even knowing that she would outlive him, she knew that she wouldn't want to live without at least trying. She wanted nothing more than to just enjoy moments like this for as long as she could. He made her feel things that she had never felt before and she liked those feelings, she wasn't sure if it was love or not. She cared for him that much she knew, but was this what falling in love was like? Was it wanting to be with that other person no matter the risk or the consequences?

She had no way of knowing as she had never fell in love before, she could ask her mother as she had loved Hades of all people. Maybe she could talk to some of the other women when she could but right now she just wanted to enjoy the morning.

**-Present-**

"So was it good?" Donna asked as she was very curious as to what it was like with a man.

Diana gave a soft smile, "Well...it was a bit awkward at first but Bruce took his time to show me properly...twice."

Donna burst out laughing as Diana had a huge smile on her face, "I just hope my first time with David is a disaster. I mean at least Bruce has experience but for the both of us, well I'm worried it might be horrible for the both of us."

Diana gave her sister a nod of understanding, "Well just take your time and explore and communicate. Plus I'm sure that he'll take his time he seems like he'd want to take his time. That being said how was last night with him?"

**-Last Night, Washington D.C.-**

Donna Troy was enjoying the time off, she had a full day off and she wanted to enjoy it. The women of the League took her out to some place called a spa that had everything done. A relaxing massage, her nails done, hair done and many other things and Donna had to admit she could see why women went to them. She felt like a new woman and totally relaxed as well. She came home and saw that they had a message on their machine. One was for Diana from Bruce, another was from Black Canary asking if she was up for a sparring match when she got back on duty. It was the last one that caught her attention as Longshadow called her up asking if she wanted to go out for the night.

So of course she wanted to, it had been a week since the last time they had been together given all the missions and stuff that kept getting in the way. Well they had seen each other around the Tower but eating a meal together and talking while waiting around wasn't exactly romantic. She quickly showered and changed, deciding on some jeans and a nice black t-shit with a few white stars on them.

David arrived just in time as she had just finished getting ready. They went out to a nice club, dancing with the loud music and all the lights was always fun for her and it was kind of nice with him as he was a bit shy on the floor but she managed to get him to open up a bit as well. They walked through the city to get something to eat and just enjoying spending time with each other. There was always something to do in this city as it truly never did seem to sleep.

They decided to cut through the park for a nice time alone and just enjoy the night. Normally at night there were certain places in central park people avoided but it wasn't like they had much to worry about. They were just walking enjoying the time together, their arms were linked and she was resting her head on his shoulder. She liked how his well formed muscles felt against her body. A part of her couldn't wait until he was ready to take their relationship to the next level, he had stopped her before and she admitted it had been too soon but she hoped that when it did happen she hoped it would be just as good as she heard it could be.

"This is nice," she said to herself.

"Yeah it is," Longshadow said smiling down at her.

She smiled as they walked over to a bridge coming up to them as soon as they were close to it a few figures came out of the shadows. They looked like gang members by the matching colors and urban clothing. One of them came up to them with a false smile on his face.

"Nice night huh?" He asked them.

"It was," Donna said slowly detaching from Longshadow's arm.

"Oh we got us someone with some spunk," he leered at her. "Look I'll cut to the chase, you give us all you got and we may just leave you both alone."

With that the gang members started to circle around them, they had various weapons like a bat, chain, one even had a knife. But Donna and David just shared an amused look with each other, they fought a lot tougher people than this and it was pretty sad really. They had no idea who they were up against and they were going to be in for a shock. The first man came at Donna with a bat swing to her stomach but she easily caught and stopped it.

The man had a surprised and confused look on his face as Donna just grinned at him and then quickly grabbed him and threw him aside. David didn't miss a beat as he grabbed one member and picked him up over his head and threw him into two others. It wasn't much of a fight, Donna and Longshadow easily beat up the gang members as after they all realized that they were very outmatched they ran. Or in some cases limped off as some of them had to be helped by other members to get out of the area.

Donna however was feeling a little pumped after it, the slight adrenaline rush was going through her and her warrior nature was rushing through her blood. The heat of battle was something that all Amazons liked and she looked at David and could see it mirrored in his eyes. She had looked up more on Native American tribes and there was a fine warrior tradition with them, and a deep sense of spiritualism as well.

"David," she said getting his attention and he looked down at her and she quickly put her hands behind his neck and reached up to kiss him. It wasn't a gentle one, this was a kiss of fire and passion. He eagerly pulled her into it with his hands on her hips deepening the kiss. Donna hadn't felt so alive in a long time, the fire burning inside of her was like a roaring flame as she felt his tongue trailing on her lip asking permission to enter.

She opened her mouth as their tongues met and danced, or maybe battled for dominance was a better way of describing it. She could hear a deep moaning escaping her as she fell into the kiss as the world melted away. She felt a hand on her spine as another trailed up her back to the back of her head. Her hands went down to feel that powerfully build chest. Eventually her lungs burned for air and she had to pull away.

Both of them were flushed and breathing hard.

"Wow, where did that come from?" He asked her.

"Not sure but it certainly was great," she smiled up at him.

**-Present-**

"After that we came home and we were enjoying ourselves," Donna smiled as she finished her story. Although they had come back to her place they had stayed on the couch enjoying each other but he still hadn't been ready. It was a bit frustrating and after they called it a night she had taken a cold shower but still that memory of that kiss in the park was something she wouldn't forget for awhile.

Diana smiled as she finished her plate off and put it in the sink, "Sounds like we both had a good time."

"I'll agree to that, but has that ever happened to you?" Donna asked her older sister. "I mean with being very worked up and kissing Bruce?"

"Actually I have. Usually after a very intense sparing match I tend to get...well you know," Diana smirked as Donna nodded. "It might be the heat of the moment but it does seem to make things interesting."

"If that's how action can make a kiss better I wonder how it makes sex," Donna joked as she went to her room to change for the day. Although Diana had paused as she actually went to think about that and started to wonder if she could get one of the gym sparring rooms to herself and Bruce without anyone walking in on them.

**-Watchtower-**

Spider-Man wasn't officially on duty as he was put onto an injured listing on the roster, but that didn't mean he couldn't still go up to the Tower to work on some light stuff or just hang out. But today he was looking for help for something else. He needed someone that was an expert in solving mysteries that were a mystery themselves.

Although he wasn't sure if this was they kind of guy you wanted to spend a lot of time with but he needed answers and he was the best at digging them up. Batman was too busy with his own stuff anyway but he was also a bit too high profile. He needed someone who could slip under the radar and could sneak around without too many people knowing about it.

So there he was knocking on a door in the Watchtower, he knew the man was in as he checked the roster and he was sighed in. He waited until the door slowly opened and standing there was a tall man in a blue trench coach, fedora hat and no face thanks to that strange mask that made him always remember The Blank from that Dick Tracy movie.

"Hey Question, I got a question for you?" Spider-Man said.

"That's a new one usually I'm the one with the questions."

Peter wasn't sure if the guy was making a joke or being serious, it was hard to tell with him.

"Yeah, well I need your help with something."

"I'm a little busy," Question told him.

"What? Aliens invaders slowly taking over the Illuminate?" He joked.

"Of course not, they were always aliens to be being with they were just posing as humans," Question said totally deadpanned.

Once again Peter wasn't sure if this was a joke or not, although he knew first hand that there were aliens on Earth, hell he worked with them and was dating one for that matter. So it was because of that he wasn't sure if this was a joke or not. He decided not to get into it, it would only get him off track and there were some things he really didn't want or need to know either.

"Look I need someone who can help me with Cadmus and their clones," Peter said.

The Question tilted his head and Peter took that as a sigh that he was interested, or he had gas again he wasn't sure which.

"Come on in then," he said.

Spider-Man walked into the room, the placed was neat but still looked pretty lived in. There were paper clippings, notes, pictures all over the walls. Some of them had lines draw to each other or connected with strings of different colors. The place looked like what Mulder from the X-Files would do if he totally lost his mind and it exploded all over the walls. It was kind of creepy feel to it as well, but the guy got results no matter what the results were.

Question sat down onto a chair as he got out a note pad, "I've been looking into things with them for a bit now as well. They are the center of a few conspiracies but I think they reach further than what I found out so far."

"Have you found out who works for them, I mean directly?"

"Only a few names have surfaced, they're very good at covering their tracks."

"Well they had to have gotten someone recently or a few people to help them improve the cloning program they got." Spider-Man started to tell him about this thoughts about Cadmus and their clones. How they only had one success, and then the entire batch they made after died, now they all of a sudden had a whole new team up and running again with no visible signs of the same degeneration as last time. It was too soon after their last failure to suddenly figure out what went wrong, the only reason Longshadow lived was because he needed some genetic coding from one of the sources of his DNA.

But so far their clones didn't need to have that problem with needing additional DNA bonding with the original person in order to keep them stable. The Question listened in he had to admit that Spider-Man made a very good point. It was a mystery and that was something that he was an expert in.

"I agree there's something odd going on there, I'll look into it and see what I can dig up. This might actually help me with a new angle, if I can find certain doctors and scientists who are leading men in genetics and related fields it should help me get closer to who works for Cadmus." He told Peter.

"It seems we have similar interests after all," Question said gathering together a few things. "I'll start seeing what I can find and get in touch with you."

Spider-Man nodded, "Thanks, I'll be looking into things on my own end too."

**Next up chapter 32: Fatal Attraction**


	32. Fatal Attraction

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 32: Fatal Attraction**

Doctor Octavius was working hard in his lab getting a project up and running, although he didn't really care for that. He was working on it, but also on his own 'pet project' at the same time. Since doing things this way it gave the impression to someone watching that he was working on just the project he was given. It slowed things down a bit but it was better than nothing of course. He was nearly done with his plans, he just needed to get the last thing he needed and then it could all start.

He had to admit, it hadn't been easy to get around the security on him. Waller had him watched but thankfully not by anyone with an advanced scientific background as he doubted the average guard would know what he was doing. Waller might have an idea but not the entire picture plus there were other things to keep an eye on him, which was why it took him all this time to get around those as well.

He had just sent Zoom on a little mission to gather up the last part that he needed, and with that he could finally regain something he had lost years ago thanks for Fury. He still remembered that day when Fury, who had been tired of his activities decided to do something about them. So Fury, had his brain messed with, the part of Octavius' mind that control metal was literally cut. Although Octavius still have his powers he just couldn't access them, but the nanobots that Cadmus was working on would help with that.

Waller had no idea of his true abilities after all he came to this world with his knowledge to make his mechanical arms. Those arms were a way around his inability to use his powers after what Fury had done to him. He had given them limited intelligence but being bonded to them he could feel them, they were more than just tools to him. They were an ever constant companion for him, and people like him didn't have friends they had been the closest thing to them. Maybe that was a little sad but he didn't care what other people thought.

But with this new technology and an army of clones under his command he was going to show Waller just how much she had misjudged him. Now he just needed a little distraction to keep everyone looking at the left hand, while the right hand did all the work.

There was a chime sounding off as someone was at his door.

"Enter," he called out.

He was surprised to see Powerboy walking into the room looking sullen as usual. He couldn't help the grin on his face as this was the perfect timing for him to show up and the perfect distraction waiting as well.

"Well come in my boy, what's troubling you?" Octavius asked him.

"Well...it's just that," Powerboy wasn't sure where to start. So far the doctor was the only person he felt he could talk to, he wasn't sure why that was it was just a really strong feeling he had that told him he could trust this man.

"I can't stop thinking about her and it's driving me nuts," he said as he sat down across from him. "I mean she's so beautiful and perfect and she's everything, but she's with that bug guy for no reason. I don't see what she sees in him."

"Ah yes, well I can tell you that I myself don't like Spider-Man," Doc Oct said truthfully. "He's a very tricky person, I wouldn't put it past him if he had somehow tricked her into being with him. He's a very intelligent boy and trust me he's very resourceful."

"Then how do I get her to see past him then?" Powerboy asked.

"I think the only thing you can do is to try and force her to see the truth." Doc Ock told him knowing that the boy would be catalyst to his plan.

"I'm...not sure," The young clone said to him. He wasn't sure if forcing someone would work and he wanted her to fall in love with him because she wanted to. Besides he was a better fit for her than Spider-Man and he had no reason to doubt Octavius' word but it still didn't feel right what the man was proposing.

Doc Ock figured it might be time for a more direct way of doing this. "Would you ever so kindly listen to me and do as I say."

Powerboy's face slackened as the hidden command was said.

"You'll go to Supergirl and tell her your feelings, you will not accept any rejection. If you have to you'll force her to love you and see the truth, even if you have to take her someplace where she'll be safe from everyone even form herself."

Powerboy knew exactly where to take her, it was a special place that he had found on one of his days out. And old airfield that had been abandoned for years, he had used it as a place to get some peace and quiet and to think on things. No one knew about it as he never told anyone about it, it was perfect but he knew that if she resisted he would have to think on how to keep her safe.

"I'll need something to keep her safe," Powerboy muttered thinking about it.

Doc Ock grinned as he knew the perfect item, it was something that he had helped with while working here to be used against Superman if they ever captured him but it might hold her as well. He told Powerboy where to find the device. He wouldn't have much longer as soon as Powerboy left so he would have to work fast.

"Powerboy, would you ever so kindly leave now? I think you know what you have to do and you have a lot of work ahead of you."

"You're right and thank you Doctor, everything always seems so much clearer when I'm done with you," Powerboy told him as he got up and left.

Doc Ock held back a laugh, if only the boy knew that he was being manipulated but that didn't matter at all. He quickly went to his real experiment as it was now time to test it out, he was sure it would work but he never did get a chance to do any proper testing. But it was too late now, he walked to a machine that was currently working in the ninite machines, programming them.

He checked the computer terminal and the status showed that the solution was ready. He couldn't wait, for too long he had lived without this ability and he would soon get it back. He pressed a button as the machine died down, a small hole opened up and a vile rose up out of the machine. He took the liquid and although he couldn't see the tiny machines in there he knew they were. Doc Ock went to get an injector and placed the small tube into the gun like device. He pressed it against his bare skin and pressed the trigger.

He winched feeling the slight sting of the device inject him but it wasn't too bad. Now he just had to wait, he sat down wondering how long it would take for it to work, he wasn't too sure but it shouldn't be too long.

Then out of nowhere blinding pain hit him, he cried out in anguish grabbing his head as he fell onto the cold metal floor feeling like his mind was on fire and for a moment he wondered if he had made a mistake. That was the last thought as blinding pain made his whole world to be swallowed up by darkness.

**-New York-**

For the past few weeks Peter had been digging through whatever he could find on Cadmus and anyone who specialized in genetics. He had gotten a list of the best of the best and tried to see if he could find some kind of connection. Thanks to some of the resources he had he could get into certain things like bank accounts, he had been looking for anything out of the ordinary. Funds given by government sources that would look like a secret pay check, or if they were working under contracts to the government.

He thought he had a few leads but nothing much so far. Every time he thought he had something it led to a dead end, or just to something else completely. Those last ones he put away for later, he figured that Question might get a kick out of them unless he already knew then Peter could just pawn them off to Batman. If there was anyone that couldn't let something go it was that guy.

He was in the small room that Bruce had built for this place for his crime fighting back when he used it. Although now it was a bit more modified to Peter's taste. There was an old poster he remembered from Mulder's wall that had a UFO and said 'I want to believe' on it. Peter scratched out the 'want' part and in pen wrote above it 'do' and at the end he added 'and I have proof'. It was his own little joke given he worked with aliens and lived with one.

A few other things, like spare costumes for both him and for Kara, extra web shooters, and a few things he managed to make on the Tower that he moved into here as well. It was so cool to have some stuff for his usual crime fighting stuff, Kara kept joking that he should turn his major into something for a CSI. It was an idea but he did have an agreement with Bruce about helping him out in Wayne Enterprises. Although from what Wally told him of the job it seemed kind of cool.

Maybe he could talk to Bruce about working something out but at the moment he brought himself back to the present.

He picked up the few useful things that he could find and decided to head for the place that Question wanted to meet. He put on the mask and started to swing out over the city, one of the great things he loved in life was web swinging. Sure flying would be cool, but to him this was something only he could do. There were a lot of people that could fly but there was something exhilarating about it, that it was his own skills that kept him up in the air and not some power. Going between the small gaps between buildings, even swinging over the lower buildings entirely and jumping from roof to roof it was easy to get around a city.

Sometimes the city was nothing but a big playground to him at times, but at the moment he just needed to get somewhere fast and for him this was way faster than a car (which he still never got around to getting a license) or the subway. He eventually found the place, Peter wished he could have met at an actual place as that was easier to find than an alley on a certain street. This was New York, didn't the guy understand just how many alleys where were in this city?

Eventually he found the Question and this car, it was kind of hard not to miss as not many people still had older cars like his or in that shade of blue. It kind of stood out especially since no one in New York would drive something like that, at least not in this neighbourhood. Peter landed next to the driver's side and tapped on the glass.

"License and registration please," Peter asked.

"Ah good you found the place," Question said ignoring his joke, he unlocked the doors and Peter went to the other side and let himself in. "So you found anything interesting?"

"Not much," Peter sighed as he threw his folder that he carried with him onto the dash. "A few possible leads but nothing major, I hope you had better luck."

Question looked at the file, "I have to say that I had some of these people looked into as well. There isn't really all that many people that are experts in genetics let alone cloning which is a controversial topic as stem cell research."

"And yet Cadmus I bet is working on both and then some," Peter said.

"Agreed," Question was finished with the file but so far he hadn't seen anything that stood out. "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way."

"How so?" Peter asked.

"We've been looking into valid scientists, but the types of work that Cadmus does I wouldn't put it past them to get those that were discredited. After all when you can't get any funding and are considered a pariah in your community, if someone were to offer you everything you needed with no limits you'd jump at the chance."

Peter had to admit that would make sense and it would be a lot easier too.

"So what types of scientists would be so down on their luck they would work for Cadmus?"

Question thought about it for a moment, "The usual types are those that used unethical means so they were thrown out of the science community, those would be easiest to get and wouldn't have any issues with how Cadmus works. Other would be those whose theories were outlandish or entered into the realm of Fringe Science."

Peter knew what that was it was science that looked into the really weird stuff. Psychic abilities, time travel, strange genetic experimentation, switching minds, controlled out of body experiences and a whole bunch of other things that could happen. Usually those types of people were label as insane although if they were on to something and Cadmus needed it that would explain some of the technology they had.

"Another grouping would be those that committed criminal offences and were locked up," Question continued on.

Peter paused at that as he suddenly felt a chill run through him as a realization hit him like a ton of bricks. There was one person that knew how to clone well and he never even thought of him because he was supposed to be in sitting in a jail cell rotting away for the rest of his life.

"Oh no," Peter said quietly, he really didn't like where this was going. He wasn't supposed to be a threat anymore, he was put somewhere safe where Peter never had to worry about him screwing with his life ever again.

"What was that?" Question asked.

"I have an idea who they might have but I really hope I'm wrong," Peter told him.

"So then where do next?" Question was wondering who it was as Spider-Man looked stressed by whatever he was thinking.

"You ever been to prison?" Peter asked him.

**-Elsewhere-**

Kara was on a routine patrol, Peter had told her that he was going to meet Question and so he might be busy for a bit. That had been a few hours ago so she hoped that he was okay, he had a way for getting into trouble more so than most heroes it would seem. She smiled at that as she flew through the city, the place was a lot different than Metropolis. Where that city was all clean and looked more focus on technology, New York was dirtier but it was larger and you could feel the history of the city here. In a way it was like New York city was what you got if you merged Gotham with Metropolis.

But at any rate this was her city now, in Metropolis she was just Superman's cousin and she wasn't really that welcomed in Gotham (as most weren't by Batman) but here she was her own hero. Sure Donna was there as was Peter too but she truly felt like she had a place here. It was odd how New York had so little heroes here given it was a major city with a high crime rate.

Peter said that it might be one of the differences in this world from his own, one theory he had was because of the fact that several major cities existed in this world and not in his might have something to do with it. For some reason because of cities like Gotham, Metropolis, East Coast City, Keystone City and others like that, they drew in all the villains for some reason and villains needed henchmen and that was usually filled with lesser criminals.

Although there was also the theory that the more heroes were in a city the more crime seemed to be drawn there, after all if there were so many heroes why wouldn't criminals just go to a place where there were less heroes? It was that thought that made Kara think that sooner or later super villains would start to make New York home and personally she was kind of looking forward to some action here.

Kara flew over the streets of New York when something caught her attention, there was a figure flying towards her and she wondered who it was. She stopped where she was in flight waiting to see who it was and was surprised to see Powerboy coming towards her. She found it a bit odd as he hadn't been seen since he had helped her out earlier, so she waited for him to get closer to see what he wanted.

He stopped a few feet away from her with a small smile, "Hello there."

"Hi yourself," Kara said to him, "so any reason why you're here? Last time I saw you, you helped me out."

"This is more personal than business this time around," Powerboy told her.

"Oh?" Kara asked wondering what this was.

"Yeah, see I came to see you actually."

Kara wasn't sure how to take it although she was flattered he wanted to see her, "Really? Any particular reason why me?"

Powerboy scratched the back of his head looking a bit shy honestly, "Well the truth is I think you're amazing. I mean you're one of the strongest people in the world, I've seen how carrying you are with people and the things you've done. I think you're one of the best out there and well...I admire you."

Kara actually felt a bit of a blush on her at this, only Peter was the kind of guy that actually said things like that. It felt kind of nice to be taken noticed of by others after so long in her cousin's shadow.

"Well thanks, I have to say I'm flattered I didn't expect you guys from Cadmus to be so nice."

"You can't judge us all by the actions of a few," Powerboy told her telling. "I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"I also wanted to tell you something more, something that I've wanted to tell you the first time I saw you," He said to her as she was listening wondering what else he could possibly say to her. "I don't just admire you, I've been in love with you for the moment I laid eyes on you. I haven't thought about anyone else but you."

"Well...that's nice," Kara said slowly not sure how to respond to this. Maybe if she wasn't seeing anyone she might have enjoyed it since he was a very handsome man but the fact is she loved Peter. "But you have to understand I'm already in a relationship with someone."

"Spider-Man," Powerboy nearly spat out the name.

"Yeah, him."

"He doesn't deserve someone like you, not after what I heard about him," He said angrily.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Kara demanded getting a little angry herself. Peter was one of the best things that had happened to her and there was no way she would let someone just bad mouth him.

"Someone told me how he works, don't you see that you're just being played with? You should be with me," He told her grabbing her upper arms. "I can love you more than anyone and I can take care of you more than he can as well."

"I don't need anyone to 'take care' of me," Kara growled out as she broke out of his grasp and hit him in the chest, not too hard but hard enough to help give the message that he was not to touch her again.

"Damn it why can't you see the truth?" He shouted at her.

"The only truth I see is that you need help," Kara said turning away from him she really thought he had been a decent guy but it looked like she was wrong about him. The only thing was that she didn't know just how wrong she had been, she had assumed that he would just leave it but what she didn't know was how obsessive he was.

Powerboy couldn't remember being so angry in his life, she was everything to him and yet she turned away from him to go back to that other man? He was more than anything that Spider-Man could ever be so why did she go back? He knew the answer and he would have to make her see the truth.

"Don't you turn your back on me when I'm talking to you!" Powerboy shouted.

Kara turned just in time to see his fist connecting with her face he hit hard enough to actually hurt her. She fell out of the sky and tried to get her bearings before she slammed into something. By the time she did she was hit again she managed to block the next punch and threw in one of her own catching him off guard. She took a second to see where she was since battling in cities with someone of this league meant a lot of people could get hurt.

"You really are psychotic you know that," Kara told him this only seemed to piss him off even more.

"You belong with me!" He yelled out.

"Yeah right," She muttered to herself as she flew at him at super speed. She had a good angle that if she hit him he would be sent into the sky over the buildings then she could fight him up there with a bit better without worrying if people would get hurt.

She still wasn't sure about his full abilities but from what she could tell it was pretty much an even fight, too bad this was the point she learned of a power of his she hadn't known about. Powerboy could also use massive amounts of energy to attack he had been waiting for her to get closer to him as he was building up the power inside of himself. When Supergirl reached the point where she couldn't dodge he unleashed it all at her.

Kara was washed up in massive energy, she cried out as she was hit by it. Her vision was filled with stars and she felt pain all over her body, she had been hurt worse before but still it wasn't good for her.

"Do you think I like doing this?" Powerboy cried out as he slammed his fist into her stomach knocking the air out of her and sending her crashing into the streets below. The people who had been watching the event started to run as the super human battle reached their level. Powerboy stood over her and punched her over and over again.

"Why wouldn't you listen? Why wouldn't you just accept that we belong together? Why won't you love me back?" He said giving a punch with every line until he stopped when he noticed that she was unconscious. He was breathing hard and he couldn't believe he had just did that to her but he had to have her by any means.

"I'll show you that you belong with me Supergirl and no one will take us apart," He said gently as he carefully picked her up and flew off before anyone decided to try and stop him. Powerboy was going to take her to that special place of his and care for her just like he was supposed to.

**Next up Chapter 33: Falling Down**

**The title is a reference to a movie in case anyone wonders, sorry for the late update I needed a little break from it to catch my breath so to speak.**


	33. Falling Down

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 33: Falling Down**

**-Maximum Security-**

Peter never liked visiting jails, and each time he was glad that he was never arrested and put in one. All the times the cops back home tried to put him in jail gave him a helpful sense of staying away from these types of places, plus that and he got the feeling that there were a lot of people here that he himself had put away. It was also amazing how flashing a JL card could get you, he came here with The Question and he just flashed that card, and said he wanted to see a prisoner.

The warden seemed only too happy to help members of the League, and so now they were walking through the dark painted halls towards the maximum security area. The warden seemed like an okay guy to Peter, although he seemed to be putting on a bit too much on the friendly act for some reason. Peter just figured the guy just wanted to suck up to the heroes as some people did. He wasn't sure why some people did, maybe they thought they had some kind of pull or something, he didn't know and he didn't really care. He was more concerned with something else at the moment.

They walked into the most secure area as the man went on and on about how safe and secure this part of the prison was. Peter just wanted to get to the cell and see Octavius in there and then go on searching. All in all he would rather they kept looking than find out that he was missing because Peter really was sick and tired of dealing with Octavius, especially after last time.

"As you will see all my prisoners are fully accounted for," The Warden told them as he was opening Doctor Octopus' cell door. It was a heavy reinforced metal door that was covering the barred door. Apparently it was opened up for meals and if they had to release the prisoner as in this area was meant not to open in case of riot.

The door opened up and they could see the barred second door, they could also see a cot, a toilet and sink, one window that had a window with bullet proof glass and steel mesh reinforcement in it. But what they didn't see was the prisoner.

The warden just looked at the empty cell with a stupefied look on his face. "I...I don't understand."

He turned to the guard and yelled out to check if this was the correct cell or not. One of the men ran to get the muster for the prisoners while the other guard was ordered to check the other cells. The Question with his tall frame started to ask the warden all kinds of questions but Peter didn't hear it.

He was just looking at the empty cell, feeling a cold anger take over him. This was the reason why he had kept Doctor Octopus in this world, he wanted to make sure the man never got out and never caused anymore trouble. He didn't trust Fury with the job anymore and he had thought in this world things could be different. Peter should have known better, they couldn't keep the villains in this world locked up so why would it be any different for Doc Ock?

Now he was out and Peter just knew that Cadmus was behind all of this, who else but them could get a man out of prison and keep it quiet? They most likely had smuggled him out as if they released him it could have caused all kinds of people to have known, and wouldn't have been very popular as well.

Peter's fist clenched tightly as he stared at the empty cell, thoughts of what Doc Ock would do with Cadmus technology was just a very bad mix. He could hurt his friends in ways he could never have before in fact he might have with the clone team that was around. At first he was ready to at least give them the benefit of the doubt but with that man's hands now involved he couldn't think like that anymore.

He turned to face the warden and Question, "I want to see the surveillance tapes, there has to be some prove of who took him out and when. Then we can ask anyone involved with this anything they know." Peter knew it was a long shot but it was the only thing they had. At least with this they would be able to tell how long exactly he was gone and maybe there were people on the tape that they could question. And Peter felt they had to hurry, he just felt like there was a ticking bomb ready to go off now and they were running out of time.

**-Cadmus-**

Amanda Waller had been made aware when Dr. Octavius collapsed and put into the medical wing she knew something was up. She called up all the security people who had been on his watch and they were to see what he was doing at that time. While she was waiting for the doctors to stabilize his condition, apparently he had some kind of seizure but they couldn't find a reason for it at the moment. What was worse was the report coming in that Powerboy had gone rogue, the experimental clone had gone off and for some reason started a fight with Supergirl and then it would seem kidnapped her.

Since Powerboy was often seen going into Doctor Octopus' lab she needed him awake to answer a lot of questions. She thought she had put men that could be trusted with the simple job of watching him but apparently she would have to find more reliable people in the future.

Now she would have to find Powerboy and try and get Supergirl back before the League came at her with full force. The news was already starting to have a field day and the PR department was working overtime. She would have to make a show of having her team taking in Powerboy as a renegade, the whole affair was giving her headache.

It was awhile before the doctors told her that Octavius was awake again. She was on her way as fast as she could. By the time she got there she could see that Octavius was strapped down in one of the beds on her orders. She wasn't taking any chances with him anymore and once she got what she needed she was throwing him in the deepest pit she could find.

"Octavius, you have a lot of things to answer for," Amanda told him.

He just sat there smiling at her, "I have no idea what you are referring to. I seemed to have come down with something and the next thing I know I'm here all tied up."

"Cut the crap," She threw down a few security photos from his office. "We saw you shoot up with something and we found equipment that you didn't order. After reviewing the tapes more closely we found that for some reason Zoom was helping you out."

"Now I don't know how you got him on your side and I don't know which clones I can trust so they're all locked up in maximum security until I find out for sure which ones I can trust. You will tell me what you've been doing or else I'll make sure that you tell me."

"So I take it that's why you have a few members from the interrogation section here," Octavius nodded his head towards a few people dressed in black medical gowns. He had heard of them and seen them but never really talked or interacted with them.

It was a group that researched all kinds of ways to get information out of people, by any means necessary. He had no doubt that they would make even him talk eventually and he had no delusions about that. He tried to feel the metal around him like he used it, it had been so very long since he could do it. For a moment he felt that maybe he had screwed up and hadn't restored his long lost powers, but wait just for a second he felt it. That sensation around him where he could literally feel anything metallic, it was hard to explain to anyone that wasn't able to do what he could.

Well maybe Magneto could relate but he would never talk to that man, even if they did 'do time' in the same prison and had a mutual hatred for Fury.

He tried it again and he was close but he would have to keep her talking for a bit. It was slow going but he was making progress, it was like a limb that had fallen asleep.

"I'm waiting Dr. Octavius," Amanda said coldly.

Octavius sighed, "Guess it can't be helped can it?"

"Well I supposed I should tell you that the clones all were given a hidden programming inside of them while they were growing. Just a key phrase that lets me have total control over them, well except for Guardian as his mind was only transferred and of course your one success with that alien girl too. I've had them run certain errands for me now and again, I must admit that Zoom was very good at acquiring what I needed."

Amanda paused for a moment, something wasn't right here, he shouldn't be just telling her all of this. He should be trying to lie his way out of it or something else, she could tell that he wasn't lying as he was too forward with it all. Her mind was wracking itself up trying to figure out what he had planned.

"Well if you're so truthful then why don't you tell me what you planned to do with the ninite technology you were using?" She demanded.

He gave a small grin, "Well I knew that you'd never let me use certain technologies and I knew you wouldn't know just how dangerous certain technology could be for me. Of course you made sure the obvious stuff was well out of my reach but that's the great thing about being from an alternate Earth. All my history is back there, you have no idea of what I was able to do for a long time before a man named Fury had enough of me."

"Oh sure I found a way around what he did but it was only thanks to you that I'm able to be the man that I was again."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She asked him losing her patience.

"Did you think that I made those mechanical arms just because of my name? No I made them to replace what I used to be able to do with just a thought...like now," After he said that the metal on his medical bed shoot out and wrapped around her throat. He delighted in seeing her surprised expression.

The guards were quick to react but the fact that their weapons were made of metal was just too easy for him. He disarmed them by using their weapons against them, the fact that the entire base was made of metal as well enabled him to use the metal plates to his advantage and created massive limbs to hold down the others.

"Now I'll admit that you weren't easy to get around, but because of your lack of knowledge about me you were careless," Octavius grinned as he freed himself. "Don't worry, I still have a use for you for the moment after all I still need you to access certain data for me. But first let's free the others and I can start redecorating my new office, which would of course have been your old one."

**-Unknown Location-**

Kara's head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, the pounding was really annoying. That and the fact that for some reason she wasn't feeling well either as she tried to focus on remember what had happened. She remembered flying over the city and then meeting Powerboy...

She shot up as everything came back to her she winced in pain which was odd. Normally she should have healed a lot more than this. In fact she felt like she had just ran a full training session and that wasn't normal. She looked down as she felt something on her arms and there were large mechanical maniacal devices. There was a strange glowing coming from rounded sections on it, in fact it looked like the same green as kryptonite but she wasn't feeling sick.

'_At least I got that going for me.'_ She thought to herself as she started to look around. She looked to be in some kind of hanger or something. It was in pretty bad shape as well as far as she could see, then she noticed the metal plates that looked welded onto the roof. She had a sinking feeling they were lead so Clark wouldn't be able to find her.

She was on a mattress of some kind a pretty old one and she hoped he didn't pick this off from some dump. There were a few things like a generator and a few cheap appliances in a far corner as well. From the heat she guessed she was in the southern part of the US that is if she was still in the US. She felt for her communicator but it was obviously gone most likely somewhere else or destroyed.

It was looking around that she noticed 'the wall' as she would call it. There was an entire wall dedicated to her, pictures of her from magazines, papers, and what looked like actual photos.

'_Great, not only is he nuts he's a super stalker that's just what I need in my life.'_ Kara thought bitterly.

She looked at the manacles and tried to rip them off of her but they weren't giving much.

"Please don't bother, you'll just end up hurting yourself."

She turned to see Powerboy walking towards her smiling as if nothing was wrong.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kara demanded.

"I know it's not much but until I can find us a really nice place this will have to do," Powerboy said as if he didn't hear her. "I know we can be happy if it's just the two of us anyway. We have everything we need here."

Kara glared at him, "Look you psycho, you can't just kidnap me and hold me hostage like that weird lady in Misery."

"Don't you understand, we belong together!" Powerboy yelled at her but suddenly got calm. "I shouldn't blame you, in time you'll see the truth."

Kara should have known better than to try and reason with someone so far gone. She was also frustrated at being captured again she was getting sick of this. Kara also knew that she couldn't just wait around for help either. In fact she wasn't going to wait there was just no telling what this crazy jerk was planning on doing with her while he had her here.

A few less than pleasant images walked into her head and given his state of mind she really didn't put anything past him. Plus she bet the other would be worried sick about her as well, she could only imagine that if Peter knew about this he would be going up the wall.

She tested out the devices trying to find a weakness in them.

Powerboy was too busy lost in his own thoughts, he had her and he would keep her. He felt horrible about hurting her but she made him do it. If only she would just see reason then everything would be okay, things between them would be just as he always wanted them. It would be just the two of them and no one else would matter. Maybe he should start dealing with those of her old life, her cousin wouldn't stop until he found her but he would need to find kryptonite for that.

The other person would be Spider-Man, he would deal with that man for even thinking he was good enough to touch her. He would break him and leave his broken corpse for the world to see. Just thinking of the things she must have did with Spider-Man, instead of with him left him feeling a cold hatred and rage building up in him.

Supergirl noticed he was distracted and decided it was now or never. She wouldn't be held against her will again, that she promised herself after what happened with Octavius. She wouldn't let them see any weakness in her again. She still remembered the tears on her face after Octavius ripped out one of her teeth to leave for Peter. She had never felt so weak and helpless in her life and she hated it. She never spoke of it to anyone but it was just another thing that kept pushing her to be better.

She refused to be a victim, she wasn't some weak girl, she was Supergirl and she was going to show him just what that meant. She gritted her teeth and she took all her pain, all her anger and tired with everything she could to break free. She still had some of her strength and although the metal was biting into her skin she ignored it.

She grew more determined than ever and with one last effort she poured everything she was into her muscles.

The breaking of the manacles made Powerboy turn about quickly and felt a powerful fist slam into his face. He sailed through the air and right through the tribute wall of his. Kara stood up glaring at him as she peeled off the rest of the devices. She was feeling a bit better now with those things off of them and as soon as she hit some direct sun she would be feeling much better as well. She stood up to her full height (although not much compared to other heroes) and glared at him.

"Did you honestly think that something like that would hold me? Sure I'm not as famous as my cousin but I wear this S for a reason. I'm not some little damsel in distress that can't take care of myself all the time and needs to be rescued. Sure I get into trouble and need help now and then, but some creep like you I don't need it."

"You caught me by surprise last time but now I know what to expect, and if you think you know me now well the gloves are off. I'm not pulling my punches with you since I bet we aren't anywhere near anyone knowing you so I don't have to worry about other people."

She took measured steps forward as she got ready to bound this guy into the ground. She was pissed and was all too willing to take it all out on this guy.

"It's about time that you realized why I'm called, Supergirl!" Kara shouted at him looking at his form on the ground.

**Next up Chapter 34: Under New Management**


	34. Under New Management

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 34: Under New Management**

Galatea had no idea what was going on, at one moment she had been having a nice time with Kane and then the next thing she knows the guards have put them all into the security area. Guardian had been taken away and when he came back he didn't look too happy, and neither were they but they were less so when he told them what happened. She should have known something was wrong but Powerboy going off and not only attacking but kidnapping Supergirl she hadn't seen coming.

Didn't mean she cared for what happened to her, but she had thought the guy had an unhealthy fixation. Now they all had to be put into the secure cells until Waller felt that they could be trusted again. Galatea laid on the cot there and sighed staring up at the ceiling. Things had been going well but now everything was crashing down it seemed.

She was angry that Powerboy would just go out and do something so stupid and she bet he didn't think once about his teammates either. She was frustrated and wanted to kick the walls in, but her cell was fitted with special lights that simulated the light of a red sun. In this cell she was about as powerful as a regular human and she hated it.

It was also boring in the cells, she couldn't talk to anyone as the thick metal made it hard for sound to travel inside or outside. At least the cell was large and not cramped but it was a small thing in her favour. The worst part though was the fact she had no idea how long she had been in here, the meals came but that was the only way she could tell what time it was. And when you had nothing to do and no way of telling the time, time itself just seemed to drag on into eternity.

She had been counting the squared shapes of the ceiling again when the door opened up.

"Alright, everyone out please." Came a male voice.

Galatea walked out and noticed the others were out as well. She was confused as to what was going on but she was glad that she was out of that damn room. Without the red light she felt her strength was no longer being drained from her but she would need some yellow sun light to fully recharge. She smiled as her eyes locked on with Kaine's and he gave a smile back. But then he seemed to focus on something behind her and she saw something change in him. He looked shocked at first but then his face slowly moved to anger.

Galatea quickly looked behind her as the door to the security office that controlled the cells and the only way in and out was now open. There stood a man with heavily blackened shades over his eyes holding Amanda Waller in what looked like some kind of metal arm. Although to her, the 'arm' looked to be made out of pieces of this and that from different sources, plus he had more than just the one.

There was also some kind of metal strap that was around Waller's mouth as well.

"Good evening, some of you know me and some of you haven't had the pleasure. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Otto Octavius but some call me-"

"Doctor Octopus!" Kaine growled out making his way to the man.

Superboy snickered at the name. "Doctor Octopus? Oh man that's just too funny sounds like something from an old James Bond movie. You know this guy Kaine?"

"Ah yes in a way we do know each other. I'm not surprised that you would be angry to see me." Doc Ock grinned at him. "Although I would have hoped that you would appreciate the fact I created you. In fact it was my knowledge in clones that helped create all of you. Cadmus hadn't perfected cloning just yet and needed help in making stable clones."

"And you just had to play god again!" Kaine yelled at him. He was close enough to jump the man but he knew he had to be careful. Somehow he had regained his ability to manipulate metal, although from the memories he had of Peter Parker, that shouldn't be possible. Fury had literally cut that piece of the man's brain out. Well at any rate, Kaine may be a clone but all that hatred for Doc Ock was still inside of him. Plus he had never asked to be created and there were all his 'brothers' and 'sisters' the man had made years back.

He had killed those clones when they were no longer useful and Kaine knew that this man would do the same to any of them. Well Kaine wasn't going to let him get the chance.

Doctor Octopus had guessed Kaine's reaction, which was why he had avoided the clone all this time. There was something that he had up his sleeve, but he didn't want to use it. If he did then it would have shown his hand too early and Waller would have put him back into a cell. He had been careful to keep this secret trick of his up until this moment.

"What is the meaning of this?" Demanded Guardian as he strode forward. "First Powerboy goes AWOL and now you're holding Miss Waller hostage?"

"Ah yes," he grinned at the leader of the team. "I'm afraid that the Powerboy thing was my fault. I needed to keep the League busy and he was the perfect way to do that."

"What did you do to him?" Hawkwoman said wishing she had her weapons at the moment.

"Just the same thing I did to all of you," He grinned.

By then Kaine had jumped hoping to catch him off guard, but Doc Ock had been ready for it. He knew that Kaine would be one of the first to react to things. Kaine was only a few feet away when the metal on the walls ripped out and slammed into the clone. Galatea called out seeing him hit, she wished she wasn't so weak at the moment. She could have taken him in a second flat if she could.

Kaine groaned feeling the pain in his body, he felt someone helping him up. He looked to see Galatea picking him up.

"I wouldn't try that again," Doc Ock said with a smirk.

"Yeah?" Superboy challenged him. "You might be okay one on one but I doubt you can take on all of us!"

The team started to move on Octavius but he had one trick left up his sleeve.

"Would you all kindly please stop," With those simple words the entire team seemed to just freeze in place with the exception of Guardian and Galatea. "This is something you should have looked into Miss Waller you see I implanted a subliminal control into them as they were growing. All I have to do is say the key phrase and they do what I say."

Galatea looked at Kaine who looked like he was struggling to move but he couldn't. The others seemed to be having the same problem as well.

"Well not all of us seem to be affected," Guardian said as he started to move forward.

"Would you all kindly stop Guardian." Octavius said and suddenly the entire team launched an attack against him. Guardian put up a fight but against them all in small quarters and things weren't going well for him.

Galatea tried to help out as best she could before Octavius said to grab her as well. She couldn't believe it when Kaine actually gripped her hard.

"Kaine!?"

"Sorry, I don't want to but..." Kaine struggled to get out. He was fighting as hard as he could but his body wouldn't listen to him.

"I think it's time for them to see the big picture," Octavius smiled at them. "You two will have to realize that things are going to change and either you can be with me or if you're a problem then I suppose I can always just reclone you both."

"Bastard," Galatea said.

"Take them back to their cells." Doc Ock told the clones.

The others made to move but Kaine didn't move at first. He leaned in to whisper into Galatea's ear.

"Hit me and then run, I can only do what he says but if he doesn't use the command I don't have to do it."

She quickly looked at him and the look in his eyes told her everything. She would get help for him, she didn't like the idea of him being controlled like this. She nodded and although she hated to do it she used her elbow and rammed it into gut. He doubled over and then she ran as fast as she could, Doctor Octopus tried to use the metal of the walls to stop her. She managed to jump through a gap in them and hit the floor in a roll.

She didn't stop, she just kept on moving out the door and into the corridors.

"What are you doing, after her!" Doc Ock yelled at the clones but he could see that they were fighting the command. He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Would you kindly go after her and bring her back here."

That got the clones moving and he watched them go leaving only two behind to put Guardian in his cell before joining the others.

"It's so hard to make good help these days isn't it?" He asked Waller even though she couldn't talk. "You know I think I'll reclone them anyway if they're going to be this difficult. Maybe the next ones will be totally loyal to me, that would work out fine."

The only problem was that if she left the base it could cause problems. He would have to prepare for those types of problems a lot sooner than he needed if she did get away.

Galatea didn't want to leave but they needed help and despite how much she hated the idea there was only one group that could help them. She ran through the corridors yelling at the security guards and ordering them to stop the others. They would only slow them down of course but she needed time to get to the surface. The problem was that Zoom would be able to outrun her and the others wouldn't be too far behind.

In her weakened state she couldn't take any of them really. She also figured that they would block the main access points. Already behind her she could hear the fighting and although Octavius had the clones under control he didn't control the normal security officers. This was most likely his plan from the start, to use the team as his muscle to gain total control over the base. She felt her lung burning with the effort, a strange sensation as normally she could have kept this up without a problem.

She closed down security doors and smashed the control panels to give herself more time as she ran on. She wasn't sure how to get to the surface without using the main access tunnels but then she passed by a utility access door. She paused as she thought about it, they couldn't track her at least not yet as they would be fighting for control over the security rooms. So she quickly opened the door, it was cramped but there was a ladder going up.

She spent the next fifteen minutes trying to find her way out to the surface, she hit several dead ends, was covered in dirt and dust but eventually she found a ventilation shaft. She climbed up and managed to kick out the metal mesh covering the hole and fell out onto the surface. She was panting feeling better for the moment just to get out.

Then she felt it, the rays of the sun hitting her body. Immediately she could feel the energy coursing through her body. The frail weakness left her as her body absorbed solar energy, she felt lighter and stronger already. She would like nothing better than just lay there in the sun but she knew time was a factor. It wouldn't take long for them to figure out that she might have made it to the surface, she needed to take to the air and quick.

She pushed herself up off the dirt and took to the skies, it was a little slower than normal but she made her way to the nearest city. She needed help and the fastest way to get the right help was to find any member of the Justice League and make them take her up to the Watch Tower.

**-Watch Tower-**

"I can't believe this!" Peter shouted after he and Question returned from the prison. Whoever had broken out Doc Ock left no tracks. After they showed no official releases of any prisoners they had returned to report in what they found. Peter had hoped that with a prison transfer order, even under a different name they could track it back and find a trail. But it was like Doc Ock had just vanished so any help in finding where Cadmus took him was pretty much gone at this point.

"I do admit that it's frustrating when they cover their tracks like this," Question said as they walked along the halls. "But then that's the challenge of it, we'll find a lead."

"Yeah well I don't feel like dumpster diving," Peter sighed joking.

"You would be amazed what people throw away," Question said and this time Peter knew that he was serious.

"There you two are!"

They both turned around surprised to see Green Lantern yelled at them as he ran over to them.

"What's going on?" Peter asked.

"We've been trying to call you guys for the last hour, where were you two?" John demanded when he was closer.

"In maximum security prison," Peter said bluntly. "Turns out Doctor Octopus was busted out and I'm pretty sure Cadmus did it."

"Yeah we know," John told him.

Peter blinked a few times and he got the feeling that Question was doing the same thing. "Okay are you telling me that we spent all that time in prison for nothing?"

"We just had a visitor and she's telling us everything." John said as he led them to the prison area. "If you guys were in a heavily shielding prison that would explain why we couldn't get in touch with you two, all that heavy metal would have screwed with the communications. There's something else you should know."

"What?" Peter asked him.

"Powerboy attacked Supergirl earlier today," John told Peter knowing the reaction. "That's the real reason we were trying to find you."

"What!?" Peter couldn't believe it that had to have happened soon after he had left that day.

"We're looking for her!" John quickly told him. "We got Mr. Terrific and J'onzz looking into it as well as anyone else that can track. We'll find her and we're hoping our guest will help things out as well."

"So who the hell is this guest anyway?" Peter asked angrily. He didn't want to just sit around and wait but he also knew that he couldn't go to Kara without actually knowing where she was. He was just frustrated and worried. They arrived in the detention area and there behind a force field was none other than Galatea.

She looked a little banged up to him but this wasn't who he ever thought he would see her in the Tower.

"Great more people to see the show," Galatea growled out. "When I came to you guys for help the last thing I expected was to be shoved into yet another cell and looked at like a freak show."

"This is the guest huh?" Peter said to John.

"She found a member and demanded we take her to the Tower," John explained. "Said that Cadmus was being taken over by Doctor Octopus by controlling that new team of theirs."

"And I'm seriously thinking this was a major mistake," she growled at them.

"Can you blame us?" John asked her. "Given the trouble you caused in the past let alone Cadmus?"

"Look, you got no real legal right to hold me against my will." Galatea said sternly. "Either you help me or let me go so I can find someone who will."

"Do you know where Supergirl is?" Peter asked her.

She sighed and sat on her cot, "No idea, but if anyone might know it's that Doctor guy. He was the one that Powerboy seemed to be talking to and I bet that he might have an idea."

"Then I guess we have to go pay a house call and ask him in person," Peter said in a low tone.

"Hey you're not leaving me in here!" she shouted as they turned to walk away.

"And the reason for that being what?" Question asked her.

"Because I know the base," Galatea said to them. "I know the layout and I know the security they might have in control now. Also I have personal stake in this as well, this is my team too. You have no idea what it's like to be a clone and alone in the world and they are the closet things to family I have."

Peter was silent a moment as he suddenly remembered Jessica Drew, the female clone of himself. She had shown up now and then and over the years she had become like a sister to him. He hadn't heard a word from her since before he left his Earth and sometimes wondered what happened to her. She too had to have been hit hard by the news of that night when Peter lost all those important to him. She had the memories of his life and their deaths would have hit her just as hard.

When he had gone back to say 'goodbye' to those that mattered he had asked Kitty to try and find her but so far no luck. Looking at Galatea now he couldn't help but wonder what Jessica was going through all alone now.

"Alright, she comes with us." Spider-Man said to the surprise of everyone.

"Now hold on a minute you honestly think we can trust her?" John asked.

"I think we can trust her to do what's best for her and the others," Peter said to him. "She wants to save them and she'll do whatever it takes to do it. So for this I think we can trust that, but after this is all over then I would say it's a brand new ballgame."

"He's right," Galatea said to them.

John rubbed his hand over his face, he didn't want to let this girl out. He still remembered the trouble she caused Kara and them. But Peter had a point and they would need all the help they could get to storm this base. He didn't like it and he just knew that Shayera won't like it and make it clear to him that she didn't. He keyed in the access code as the field went down.

"You try to stab us in the back and I'll be there personally to stop you." He warned her.

She wanted to make a comment like 'you could try' but she didn't want to push her luck.

It was later when Peter was walking to the main room with Question, Galatea and John. They were heading to see if J'onzz knew anything about what was going on with the search for Supergirl and if the Cadmus team had been seen yet. Knowing Doctor Octopus he might have sent them out do already do some kind of damage if that was his plan.

That was when the transporter activated and everyone stood there in surprise. The unconscious and beaten form of Powerboy was thrown down in front of them. And standing there with her uniform torn and dirty, her hair messed up and a few bruises and a healing cut was a panting Supergirl.

"Kara?" Peter asked being the first one to speak.

"Will someone please luck up this psycho before he wakes up?" Kara said angrily as she pulled out the communicator in her ear. It had taken her ten minutes to find it after the fight. Thankfully Powerboy had only taken it out and not destroyed it, a mistake on his part but still it had been a lucky break.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked her as a few of the members dragged off Powerboy.

"I've been better," Kara swayed and Peter grabbed her. "Thanks."

"And here we were about to look for you too," Spider-Man grinned under his mask.

"Not this time," Supergirl smirked. "I'm not being the damsel in distress this time. Hey Peter, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What the hell is she doing here." Kara glared in the direction of Galatea who just glared back at her.

Peter sighed, "I'll fill you in as we get you look at."

**Next up chapter 35: Rally the Troops**


	35. Rally the Troops

**The Cadmus Web**

**Chapter 35: Rally the Troops**

"So we're going to rescue Cadmus from its own fault," Kara's voice called out. "Wow, I can't tell if this is karma or irony."

"Tell me about it," Peter said.

After Kara had been looked up, and Powerboy locked up, they went back to their place to get Kara some new clothing and to clean up. Galatea was working with the League to plan out the assault on the Cadmus base so while they had some time to get ready. Peter was already packing a few special web cartridges he had saved up in the small secret lab. He placed them on the new belt he had made that fit nicely under his costume. With the new money from work and some resources he was finally able to update his equipment. He could order in special chemicals and items through the League funds which really helped out.

He was using a new web shooter design, it was basically the same only made with a stronger metal but lighter as well. It was sturdier and less likely to break, that had been a problem a few times in the past and he hoped the new ones held up. The belt held some neat little tools that collapsed and fit into the back. Something Batman had helped with that design, the man really knew how to pack a utility belt. It was no wonder the man seemed to have everything in that belt of his.

Peter however was limited as it wasn't as bulky as Batman's, mainly it held the small tools, a light on the front and it held extra web fluid. When Peter was ready he walked into his bedroom and heard the shared bathroom door opened up.

He was surprised when Kara stepped out in a new uniform, and this wasn't just a new one in the same style of the old one either. This was a brand new uniform design she was wearing. Her hair was now free making her look a bit more mature. The top was blue with long sleeves on it. There was a short red cape that was a bit longer than the old on. The top showed off her mid section like the last costume too, the skirt was a different design. It looked a bit better for movement, it was red and made in a vee pattern.

The last was new red boots with gold trim at the top. He had to admit this was a much better costume than her last one, which she had told him she literally threw together with what she had at the moment. Now she looked amazing.

"Wow," Peter said getting up and looking at her more closely. "Very nice."

"Thanks," Kara smiled happy he seemed to appreciate it.

"So, why the change anyway?" Peter asked out of curiosity.

"I've been thinking about it since I met that other me, you know the one from the Justice Lord reality." Kara told him. "When I got to talk to her and saw her costume, well I started to think on myself. I mean I'm not the kid that I used to be and I think it was time to reflect that."

"So, you really like the new look?" Kara smiled as she gave a little twirl.

"Oh definitely," Peter grinned but then he got a serious face. "We should get back, I bet they'll be ready by now."

Kara's face grew just as serious as they got ready and teleported back up to the Watch Tower. When they arrived they could already see everyone was working harder than usual. J'onn looked like he was in the middle of a disaster.

"What's going on?" Peter asked up at the control center.

"While we were getting ready, the Cadmus team went out and started up several problems," J'onn explained. "We have a flooding, power is out in a couple of cities and rioting started up. We've had to send many of the League out to deal with these issues."

"He's making fires for us to put out," Peter said out loud. "We can't hit him with everyone we got with all of this going on."

"Damn," Kara said. "We should have expected that he wouldn't take things lying down. Who is left for the team?"

"Not sure yet," J'onn told her as he went to sent another group of heroes out. "Until things settle down we'll have to see who is left."

**-Cadmus-**

Dr. Octopus was currently in Amanda Waller's office trying to salvage his plan. Months of careful planning and everything now had to be changed because Galatea of all people ran off. She had proved more resourceful than he had anticipated. Somehow how she had gotten out of the facility, of that he was sure of. They had searched everywhere with no trace so it was only logical that she had gotten out.

Now he had to do damage control, after all the guards and troops were rounded up or taken care of, he had Miss Martian place simple mental commands into them. It was taxing for the young Martian clone, but now the entire facility was under his control. The only problem was that the Cadmus head of staff were immune to normal telepathic persuasion. Most likely due to some conditioning or implant but he didn't have the time to dig out whatever defences they put in their heads. So he just took care of them the old fashioned way.

The General was currently ranting and raving in his cell about how 'traitorous' his troops were, the mystic was thankfully taken care of in that mirror still and Cadmus has yet to replace her. Which was good, he never liked the whole 'magic' thing. It wasn't science and although he couldn't figure it out, there had to be an explanation behind her powers.

The good Professor was locked up in his lab, it was easily enough to persuade him through physical violence to comply. The man had no spine after all, and even now was working on a backup program that Cadmus had in case the clones went rogue again like with their last team.

Last but not least was Amanda Waller herself, how was tied up with a few metal bands to the chair across from him. She hadn't said a word yet after he took the gag out, mainly just to spite him of course. Octavius was also working on the computer on Waller's desk at the moment trying to gain the higher restricted files. He had planned on having enough time to break the codes but with Galatea loose he knew he had a limited window now.

It was a pity really, he had originally planned to use Cadmus as its staff as a base of operations. The things he could have done here, but now he would have to switch to plan B. This plan was simply to take all the knowledge Cadmus had and set up shop with all their research and data. He had even found a few secret accounts for funding some of their projects. Although from what he saw that was just the tip of the ice burg but he didn't have the time to see how far that rabbit hole went. So he just made sure to use the two accounts he found to good use.

He just hoped that he had bought some much needed extra time.

He knew that the Justice League would come knocking eventually, but he would be ready for them. Plus he had already started enough trouble to really stir things up. Zoom, Superboy and Miss Martian had been sent out to cause as much chaos as possible. Power plants were sabotaged, powerlines cut down, telecommunication centers had their equipment broken, and little miss Martian use her powers to start a few riots. The poor girl was currently resting as it all left her mentally drained. He hoped that she would be ready a telepath was a very handy weapon in a fight.

He looked at Waller still surprised by her silence. "You know my dear by this point someone would have said 'you're not going to get away with this' to me by now."

She only grinned at him, "I already know that and there is no point in me saying that. I will say that I'll enjoy removing those little ninites from your brain and then sticking you back into a deep dark cell."

"It's been done by a better person than you my dear and yet I've escaped again and he'll never find me here. I highly doubt he even knows where I am let alone now to get to me and I'll be happy to keep it that way. Now then I don't suppose that while you're in a talking mood you'll tell me your personal passwords?"

"No."

"I thought not," Octavius said going back to work.

**-Later-**

Several teleportation beams from the Watchtower shimmered and there stood several of Earth's heroes. There was Spider-Man with Supergirl in her new uniform, Flash, Shereya Hol, Wonder Girl, Longshadow, Green Arrow, and Martian Manhunter who had decided that he was needed for the team. The last member of the group was Galatea who looked anxious to get started.

They looked around and the area looked pretty desolate, it looked like some empty lot in a city. Nothing out of the ordinary about it at all.

"Are you sure you put in the right coordinates?" Flash asked looking around the place. "It doesn't look like a secret base is anywhere around here."

"Of course not," Galatea said walking towards an old pole that had an electrical box on it. "That's the whole point. It's not much of a secret if everyone knows about it."

"She's got you there man," Peter said to the super speeder.

Galatea opened up the box and then flicked a switch. She then opened the panel to reveal a different panel on it. This looked more new with a code key put onto it. She just hoped that her code was still valid and that Doctor Octopus hadn't overrode her access codes. She could have taken them through the same way she got out, but those were cramped and if they got caught it wouldn't do them any good.

She was relieved to hear the sound of a metal plate on the ground opening up. It was a large piece of metal that looked like it was blocking something off. It actually retracted as the doorway came up under the ground. For a moment she was actually wondering if this was a trap or not, it seemed too easy and that put her on edge. It was the best way in for all of them, and they did have the other way in just in case but still. She just wanted to get in there and save her team and to save Kaine. The thought of him under that man's control burned her more than her hatred for Supergirl.

"Well that was easy," Flash smirked.

"Too easy," J'onn stated. He tried to look into the base with his mind but apparently it was shielded from telepathy. That would make sense in case a telepath was just walking over the base and picked up on a few stray thoughts from underground.

"But we're still going in there anyway." Peter said.

"Good," Donna said feeling eager for a fight. "I would love another shot at that Octopus."

"Hey you had your chance last time," Kara said to her friend. "It's my turn."

"Are we going or not?" Galatea snapped as she went forward. She knew she was a bit impulsive normally but she was just so worried she didn't care. She heard the others walking behind her as they walked down the ramp into the underground facility.

The place was quiet which of course made everyone feel a bit tense, it shouldn't be that quiet for a underground base. Galatea had been hoping there would still be some people resisting but that was a long shot. She knew that the easiest way to find out what was the current status was to get to the security section. There they would find one of the security offices and see what they could find.

It was when they were too far away from the main entrance when the massive doorway shut behind them.

"Okay, anyone else feels like we just walked into a trap?" Flash asked looking around.

"Yeah but it's too late to turn back now," Peter smiled at him behind his mask.

It was when they turned the corner that they found out the reason why the entry point had been shut behind them. In front of them were a large number of armoured and armed men and women pointing weapons at them. Even Galatea was surprised by this, these people worked for Cadmus and not Doctor Octopus so why were they aiming weapons at her? The League she could understand but they should know her, maybe they thought that Galatea and the others were just more of Octavius' mentally controlled group.

She was about to say something when the leader of the security forces order his people to open fire. Those that weren't invulnerable quickly dodged the incoming fire. Galatea and Supergirl took the shots with only a slight feeling of the shots hitting their bodies. Wonder Girl was deflecting the shots with her bracelets.

"What the hell is going on here?" Supergirl demanded from Galatea, "I thought you said they would be on our side."

"They should!" Galatea was frustrated with how this was going.

"Less talking ladies and more action," Green Arrow said as he poked around the corner and fired several arrows, they found their mark as they lodged into the barrels of the weapons.

Flash was next as he ran out quickly to disarm the troops, by then it was all too easy to the others to wipe them out. They all attacked as one and soon all the troops were laying on the ground unconscious. As they caught their breath it was Kara that went right up to Galatea.

"Okay what the hell was that about?" She demanded.

"I already told you, I don't know so get out of my face before I make you," Galatea nearly snarled at the younger girl.

"So anyone have any idea why this happened?" Green Arrow asked. "Maybe we could wake one of them up and see what is going on?"

"I think I have a better idea," J'onn said. He didn't like to just look into another's mind but something was going on here. He wouldn't go too far, just scan the surface to see what had happened. He stood over one of them but something was odd when he started a slight mental scan. There was something 'wrong' with the mind and it took him a moment to realize that something had been changed. He took a closer look at the mind and noticed the slight alteration to memory and perception as well as a suppression of free will.

It was a subtle manipulation and it held no real skill but this kind of mental violation was against everything that his race stood for. Ever since his people gain the ability of telepathy there were certain rules and laws that all of them stood by. To mentally change a person's will was against those highest of laws and it only made him feel sick inside that someone did this.

"Hey, are you okay J'onn?" Shayera asked him seeing the look on his face.

"Sorry," the Martian said shaking his thoughts. "They're minds have been altered slightly. It's was done by someone who looks like they weren't sure what they were doing or new to it. It's not in too deep and I think I can get rid of what was done."

"They they were all telepathically changed?" Flash asked. "Man that's so creepy."

"Can you free a person from any mental control?" Galatea asked him with some hope. "I mean can you get rid of a trigger word in someone's head?"

"It would require me to be in close contact and it depends on how deeply interwoven it is with that person. If it's too deep I might not be able to free them without risking brain damage. Even then I'm not sure the kinds of deep rooted psychological effects will have on a person forced to obey commands. The type of commands used could slowly alter a personality over time as well." J'onn explained to the clone.

"At any rate let's get this mission going, we'll split into two groups," Shayera said taking command. "J'onn you'll take care of the rear group, you'll have to undo all the things done to the guards while the other group will go on and take care of any problems on the way there."

"Galatea, since you know this place better you'll be with me. Supergirl, Spider-Man and Green Arrow will be with me. The rest stay here with J'onn and cover him."

Donna didn't like the idea of staying behind, she was an Amazon warrior and her blood cried out for battle. But Shayera had control of the situation at the moment.

"Flash, if things get harry I want you to run and get us," Shayera said to her friend.

He flashed her a smile and gave her a salute, "Not a problem, I'll find you in a few seconds but you sure you don't want me to run ahead and do some recon anyway? It wouldn't take too long and I can be back in a few seconds."

"In case you forgot they got a super speeder too," Shayera told him. "What happens when he and his friends manage to corner you?"

Wally hadn't thought about that, sure he was faster than anyone else but that clone made from him could most likely give him some trouble. "Oh...good idea, I'll stay here and look after my green buddy and the little Leaguers."

"What?" Donna asked a little icily at what he called the rest of them.

"Jr. Leaguers? Noobs? New guys?" Wally asked feeling the urge to run seeing her dark eyes locked on him.

"Flash," Spider-Man said to him. "Stop digging yourself deeper, it is not wise to upset an Amazon."

"Because they rip people arms off when mad?" Flash asked.

"Among other limbs that only males have," Donna growled out not amused at all.

Flash paled as the meaning to that one hit him and he took a step back from the young Amazon warrior. He was suddenly glad that he had managed to get off that island of theirs in one piece now that he thought about it. He looked to Peter and mouthed 'hurry' to him.

Shayera now led her group deeper into Cadmus, she wasn't sure what they would find. They knew a basic layout thanks to Galatea but now with the security people against them, there was no telling what could be thrown at them, and they still had to deal with mentally controlled clones and Dr. Octopus on top of things. At any rate it was a challenge and there was one thing that Shayera loved, it was a challenge, especially in combat.

She was looking forward to a good fight she just hoped she could count on Galatea. She was the wild card in this one but she would keep an eye on her. That was why she brought Supergirl along she would keep a very close look on the clone. Plus if things went bad with the clone, Supergirl could handle her, although Shayera wouldn't admit it, the clone was out of her league in raw power. She just hoped things didn't get too crazy too fast.

**Next up Chapter 36: Battle for Cadmus**

**Sorry about the lack of updating, I can't believe this story is two years old. Well the final chapters are coming so I'll finish this off as soon as I can. Hopefully with faster updates and then I can get to the next Spider-X story.**


	36. Battle for Cadmus

**Web of Cadmus**

**Chapter 36: Battle for Cadmus**

As they race through the hallways Peter couldn't help but notice how everything seemed the same. The place had no real features that made any hallway different from the other and he was left wondering if this was planned to confuse enemies, or the architects just went with a focus on just function. He did notice sighs saying what section they were in and others pointing to other areas. But without a reference to what the facility looked like it was just all out of context anyway. Sure they studied the blue prints that Galatea gave from what she could remember, but that was a rough drawing plus there was a big difference from seeing the plans and actually walking around a place.

It took him awhile to get used to the Tower when he lived there when he first arrived in this reality. And there were still areas he had never been in. So running down the halls taking out random brainwashed guards along the way, they were totally left their fates up to Galatea to show them the way.

At least he was thankful that Kara and Galatea were too busy to fight each other, at the most he could tell a low tolerance for each other which at this point was a good thing.

"How much farther?" Flash asked getting a little impatient with how 'slow' he had to go.

"Around this corner and then through a security door." Galatea told them.

They did as she said coming into a large room with a thick metal door with a large square glass window, they could see into a room with a lot of equipment inside of it. Galatea didn't bother with any code, she didn't have one for the door anyway and just ripped it off and threw it aside. They went into the room as she sat at the main control consol as she tried to access the security system. Unfortunately it would see that the computers were locked out in the room. Every time she tried to access it she got an 'access denied' message.

"Damn it, he must of revoked access to the security stations!" she said.

"Great, now what?" Kara asked.

Galatea thought about it, "Maybe one of the science stations can be used to hack into the system through a less secure route. But I don't know if I can do that."

"Maybe I can," Peter spoke up. "I'm pretty good with computers." Plus he learned a few tricks thanks to Batman and he had helped with the computers on the Watch Tower after all. "

"Then we better get going," Flash said to them all not wanting to get caught. They left the security station but as soon as they left the door behind them shut quickly. They also noticed that door they used to get into this area had closed while they weren't looking.

"Well this stinks of a trap," Flash muttered to himself.

"And correct you would be," A voice came over the internal speakers inside the base. It was the voice of Doctor Octopus that was speaking to them now. "I have to admit I was hoping the security forces would have slowed you down some more to give me more time. Thankfully your little group has split up and I have some surprises in store."

"I'm so sick of you at this moment Doc," Spider-Man said looking into one of the small round security cameras hoping he was watching from it.

"Now that isn't the nicest thing to say Peter," Doc Ock said amused. "But at any rate I supposed things worked out for the best when I was arrested. I never would have thought such a place existed and I have so much wonderful data to work with now. But I've only scratched the surface so I need you all to be busy for awhile longer. So I've arranged for you all to have a little reunion."

The sound cut off as the doors opened up and the Cadmus team walked into the room.

"Oh crap," Flash said looking at the clones. "Anyone got a plan?"

"Yeah," Shayera said getting her mace ready. "Looks like we have to fight them all. Flash take your counterpart I don't think we can deal with a super speeder. I'll take mine, the rest of you take the ones that you can. Hopefully we can hold out until J'onn and the others get here."

Flash was off as a red and yellow blurs started to fight amongst them all. For Flash it was like the world around him was moving in slow motion while he was moving like an average person, at least he thought so. He hadn't really moved at average speed all that much since he got his powers except when at work at the crime lab. But this was different for him, he never fought someone that could match his speed and it was a little disorienting at first.

Shayera flew up a few feet to get some height in her over head swing but the clone girl was able to block with a small triangular blade she used. The two warrior women went at each other with nearly reckless abandonment. Both were not giving each other any room for error as they would capitalize on it.

The young teenaged green skinned Miss Martian went after Galatea first as she turned into a giant serpent to crush the other clone. Superboy went after Supergirl and Peter found himself fighting a guy in all black with these grey lines on his suit. He dodged the first attack but the guy was just as fast as him and apparently just as agile. When Peter jumped up onto a wall to get some space he was shocked when the guy did the same, and it was exactly the same. Peter usually crouched on all fours like a spider, it was just something that usually came to Peter naturally. But this guy mirrored it exactly.

Peter didn't want to admit it but this was Doctor Octopus he was dealing with an it wouldn't be the first time either.

The clone jumped at him as they fought on the wall.

"Stop this M'gann!" Galatea yelled as she fought with Miss Martian.

"I...can't, I'm sorry. I don't want to...but..." She fought to say as she fought her.

"I'm going to kill that bastard," Galatea muttered to herself as she continued to fight her team mate.

Peter was trying his best to get control over his clone Kaine, but the guy was bigger and a bit stronger than he was. He also picked up a few new moves himself although he had to admit that this whole battle was surreal in terms that went into the insane. He was caught off guard by a kick to the side and the other man capitalized on it, taking his arm into an arm drag and slammed him into the floor.

"You know I'm not sure if I should be mad at this or not," Kaine admitted as he held Peter down.

"What the hell did I do to you?" Spider-Man asked hearing the venom in those words.

"You think I asked to have your memories?" Kaine said. "The crap I have to deal with, plus here you are getting the good life while I get nothing like all the other clones here. You have any idea what it's like to have everything you know as nothing more than a lie, that you've got nothing of your own?"

"Okay I get it, it sucks to be you," Peter gritted his teeth trying to get out of the lock. "But personally I think you should be more pissed at Doc Ock."

"Oh trust me I may not like you but I hate that guy more than you can think." Kaine said to him.

"At least that's something we can agree on," Peter grunted.

Kaine was about to dislocate the arm when something slammed into his side. He flew through the air as he skidded to a halt on the cold metal ground. He shook his head as he looked up to see the rest of the Justice League coming into the room.

"Sorry we're late," Donna said helping Peter up. "J'onn had to deprogram all of the guards you left behind."

"Hey that's good timing for me, how about we round up the others?"

"Shouldn't be too hard with all of us here," Longshadow said as he grew as large as he could in the room, sure it was tall but it still only allowed him to grow to a certain point. He grabbed Hawkwoman and held her in his massive fist until J'onn could get to her.

"Start with their telepath!" Shayera shouted out to the Martian.

J'onn nodded as he flew up and managed to get the young girl by behind. She was struggling but he was a bit stronger, he didn't feel good about what he was going to do but this was one of the exceptions to their rule on invading a person's mind. He looked into her head and tried to find what was used to control her. He found that unlike the guards this wasn't a telepathic alteration, it was a deep rooted but it was a mental conditioning. Although time seemed to crawl it only took a few seconds before finding the trigger and placing a mental block around it.

It would only be temporary, but if he got some more time he could get rid of the trigger with sessions but for now it was buried.

On the outside Miss Martian had frozen for a moment before going completely limp. He took hold of her as he gently laid her on the ground as she groaned. She put a hand to her head and then her eyes shot open as she quickly sat up.

"Oh no what did I do!?" Miss Martian remembered forcing the guards to accept Doctor Octopus.

"Nothing that can be reversed thankfully," J'onn said to the girl. It was odd as this girl came from him apparently. Although she was able to use a more human appearance when he had been in her head he felt the familiarity of it. A sense that he hadn't felt since his people had been killed.

"I-I'm sorry," she said looking down. She knew her origins and she secretly had wanted to meet him. Sure she was a clone but she knew nothing of Martian history or culture. Unlike Galatea or Kaine she had no memories to draw on and she always wondered where she came from.

J'onn only smiled as he sensed her thoughts, "We'll talk later if you want but first help me to put a block on the others."

Her face lit up as she hurried to get up and get to the others.

Flash managed to catch Zoom by holding him, "Got ya, now just stay here long enough for J'onn to fix that little thing in you head and we're all good."

"You're missing something," Zoom said to his counterpart.

"Oh, what's that?" Flash asked.

"I may like who I am now," Zoom then started to vibrate his body and slipped out of Flash's grasp. Flash knew that trick too but honestly he never had to hold anyone doing it. He wasn't even sure that it was possible to hold someone like that. But Zoom soon ran out of the room as Flash looked behind him. The others seemed to have to rest of the clones under control now thankfully.

"Guys, the reverse-me, just ran off I'm going after him." Flash told them.

"Go, you're the only one that can catch up to him," Shayera said and with a grin he was gone in a blur. She looked at the others as Miss Martian and J'onn had suppressed the mental commands put in their heads by Doctor Octopus. "How is everyone?"

"Been better," Hawkwoman muttered.

"Man I'm so going to kick that guy's ass for this," Superboy said getting up. "No one messes with my head like that, that was seriously not cool."

"Get in line," Kaine said as he felt more clear headed as he walked over to Galatea. He leaned in close so he could talk to her without anyone listening. "I'm sorry."

She gave a small smile, "It's okay."

"Now we have that out of the way we still have some problems," Shayera said to everyone. "First we still need to get to Doctor Octopus but he's most likely still got some of the guards under his command."

"I can help with that," Miss Martian said she was looking to make up for using her powers like that. Sure she hadn't been in complete control but she felt horrible about it. Something deep inside of her had told her it was wrong, maybe it was something that Martian's felt when they used their powers like that. She was looking forward to talking with J'onn after all of this, maybe he could answer questions she had about herself.

"Okay," Shayera nodded. She didn't completely trust the clones but after what Doc Ock did to them he trusted them to want to bring them down. "But we still need to get access to the security network. There's no telling how much control he has and what he could do, it would be a lot easier to track him down that way."

"We can't use any security stations," Galatea told her about what they found out in the security station behind them. Then she told her about possibly using one of the main computer terminals in the science labs. It would take some effort to hack into the security system from there but she doubted he thought to lock them down.

It was a gamble but one that they had no other option for. Plus there was still Guardian who was locked up in the security cells.

"Okay one team will go and see if they can find Doctor Octopus, another will go into the detention area and the other will go see if they can gain access to the computer network and either slow him down or shut him out." Shayera said to them all after thinking about their options.

It wouldn't hurt to have another man on the job, plus if they had a telepath in each group that would mean less time hunting down security guards and deprogramming them. One of the problems would be that the computer hunting team wouldn't have a telepath to fix any guards they found. She also didn't want a whole team to be composed of just the Cadmus clones, there was no telling if there were any more surprises hidden in their heads.

"Okay this is what we're going to do..."

**-Science Lab 12-**

Galatea, Kaine, Supergirl and Spider-man found themselves outside one of the many labs of the complex. They were looking for an access terminal and to see if they could override anything that Doctor Octopus had done. It was a very awkward time together for all four of them that was for sure. The amount of tension between them all could be cut with an axe.

"So what's in here?" Supergirl asked when they got to a heavily secured looking area.

"I don't know, I never go into the labs but I don't think I have access to this one anyway." Galatea said seeing the security markings.

She only had a basic security pass code and this looked to be something only senior Cadmus members had access to. Well that wouldn't stop her, they needed to see if they could access the main computer core and shut Octavius out of the system and if this place was high security then they might be able to do it, if he hadn't thought to shut down all terminals. She doubted that, the facility would need them to keep running so it was most likely he only shut down the ones in the security offices.

Galatea gripped the doors and with a little more effort than she thought it would take she managed to push the door in. It had apparently been a very thick door with many large cylinders in the side that kept it locked like certain vaults.

"Pretty strong door but just a lab," Kaine commented on what she was thinking at the moment.

"Great knowing my luck it will be a bio hazard in there," Peter muttered under his breath as they walked in. He still wasn't sure what to make of his clone, he had enough of clones to last a life time with the exception of Jessica his female clone back on his Earth. But this guy was a little too dark and he had to wonder what else Doc Ock might have done to him.

When they got inside they noticed it looked more like a personal work lab. There were a few desks, some computers, files and the usual stuff but there was no indication of why such a heavy door would be needed. There was also someone else in the room who looked surprised to see them. It was none other than Professor Hamilton, the man that once was a good friend to Supergirl and Superman.

"Professor!?" Kara was shocked to see him here and apparently working for Cadmus. She had suspected since she first saw her clone but this was the first proof she had, but it still hurt to see him here.

"W-what are you all doing here?" He said obviously afraid of them.

"We're here to take back Cadmus," Galatea said happy to see her 'father' again. Although she didn't notice how he took a slight step back from her when she got closer.

"Oh…well that's good…" he said looking very nervous. "Well then let's get out of here then."

"What are you doing here, and if there any computer terminal hooked up to the main computer banks here?" Spider-Man asked the Professor as Kara looked a little out of it for a bit.

"Y-yes but we have to leave," He said to them.

"Why?" Kaine asked as he narrowed his eyes behind his mask. Something was up with him, he had seen the guy a few times but he looked more nervous then usual. Like he was hiding something, now that he thought about it what would he be doing here? He looked and noticed a second security door at the other end of the room. Whatever was going on he had a feeling it would be behind it, so he started walking towards the door.

"No!" Hamilton yelled out as he tried to stop him.

"What's in that door that you don't want us to see?" Kaine asked him.

"Look it's just dangerous, you can't open that door." He said to him.

"Kaine he wouldn't lie to us," Galatea said to him gently. "I believe him."

Kaine wasn't so sure, he knew that with Hamilton his girl was blind to certain things. Maybe because she was so desperate for a love of a parent since they had none technically. But he took a few more steps and paused as he put his hand on the door and frowned.

"If this was dangerous then why isn't my spider sense going off?" Kaine asked the man who looked nervous.

"He's got a point," Peter said as he walked up to the door, "If there was danger we would both know it."

Hamilton said nothing as he was sweating now, they couldn't open that door if they did there was no telling what Galatea would do. He was looking to make a run for the open door but Supergirl was there and he really didn't want to get closer to that girl than he had to. He didn't trust any Kryptonian anymore not after what he'd seen could happen. That day when Superman forced him to do what he did was an eye opener. How naïve he had been, they seemed pleasant enough but when they wanted something they could take it and there was nothing any human could do about it.

Kaine didn't like secrets and especially the kind where people lied to him and it was obvious that the man was lying about what was behind the door. So he placed his hands on the door making them 'stick' to the metal and pulled. The door wasn't as thick or tough like the first one and it easily came off. He threw it aside and just stared in horror at what he saw.

"Good god…"

"Oh man…" Peter moaned looking at little at Galatea. Now wonder that man didn't want them to open the door, she would lose it when she saw this.

"What is it?" Galatea asked now liking how Kaine just froze there. He and Spider-Man stepped away and she took a closer look and she gasped. There in the room it was filled with rows of tanks and in them were her, clones of her in various states of growth. And not just of her but it looked like other members of her team as well from the few that were formed enough for her to make them out.

"I…I don't understand…" She whispered as she looked at the room. "I thought I was unique, why do they have more of me."

"I know someone we can ask," Kaine said looking at Hamilton.

**Next up Chapter 37: Fury**

**AN: Sorry for the long wait but this story is just getting harder and harder to write but I'm nearly done, maybe one or two more chapters depending on their length.**


	37. Fury

**Web of Cadmus**

**Chapter 37: Fury**

Galatea could only just stare numbly at the tanks in front of her. She was supposed to be special, the only one, so why were they making more of her? She could see tanks holding those that looked like her team, the Ultimen, and who know who, or what else? She just couldn't understand.

"You got more clones being made here, isn't the ones you have enough?" Supergirl demanded from Professor Hamilton. "You even got the Ultimen again."

Professor Hamilton backed away, he knew what these aliens were like when they were mad. Plus there was no telling how Galatea would react. She had become a bit unstable for a bit, but she had been getting more under control when the clones were brought into a team with her. Now he was afraid of what she could do to him. Personally he didn't trust anyone with powers, all too often he had seen what power did to normal people. They went out to commit crimes or thought they were above the law and could do what they pleased.

That was the reason he joined Cadmus, to put some kind of safe guard against these people. And there was plenty of evidence to prove his point, how much damage did these battles cause, how many lives were lost.

But now the clones had seen the cloning lab, the one used to make the backups in case they needed them. They had only just started growing them, he had finally managed to make more clones of Galatea as well. He had made fifty clones before he came across the first stable one that had eventually become Galatea. Thanks to the new help, it was much easier to make more clones from Kryptonian DNA. It still required a lot of work to get just one working clone but it too less failures this time around.

Now he was worried about his own life, Galatea was created to be their weapon, their tool, but if she snapped nothing could save him.

"Why, I thought that I was special, I thought you cared about me." Galatea pleaded with him. She felt like she was loosing herself, her entire life at this point. How could the one man she thought as a father, the man that gave her life, could be a part of this.

"He's afraid of you, that's why." Supergirl said simply as she looked at the scene with some pity in her. No matter how she felt about Galatea, no one deserved to have their live shredded like this. She had seen this all before in Peter. She had helped him to heal over it and had seen the pain in him even today. Now she was looking at the older version of her and despite everything, she couldn't muster any hatred for her.

"No he doesn't!" The female clone shouted in rage. She couldn't believe that, she can't believe it. Then she felt a familiar touch on her arm as she looked to see Kaine. He pulled off his mask to let her see his face.

"Tea…look at him, really look at him." He told her gently. "It's true, even I can see it."

She looked at Hamilton with her eyes on the verge of crying. She didn't want to believe this, but when she took a step towards him he pulled back. She paused as she looked into his face and then into his eyes. She had seen those eyes before, in the eyes of those she had killed for Cadmus. Before they died, she had seen the fear in them.

"No…" she whispered out as she took a few steps back. She didn't want him to be afraid of her, she was his child in a way. Why would he be afraid of her?

"Why should he be afraid, he gave me life." She said softly.

"Because he doesn't trust aliens or anyone with super powers am I right Professor?" Spider-Man said as he walked over to the Professor.

Hamilton moved away, "I should be afraid of your kind. Look at the things you do, you go around doing anything you want fighting others like you. Do you have any idea the kind of damage you people do? How many lives you destroy in your fights? Also you go around doing whatever you please even if its against the law. The only reason you all aren't arrested is because the fools out there don't know you like I've seen."

"Your all dangerous and Cadmus was formed to keep this world safe by any means necessary. We've had alien invasions and only just managed to survive all those times. We needed a way to defend our world from forces within and without."

"So that's all they are to you, just a means to an end?" Peter asked him feeling a bit sick at that. "They're people too."

"They're expendable resources." Hamilton told them.

Expendable, that word ran through Galatea's mind after he had said it. She was nothing more than just some expendable foot soldier. She thought that he cared about her, that he might even love her. But it was all a lie, just some lie she had made up to feel normal, to feel alive.

Galatea looked at the room filled with clones, the replacements for her friends and for her. How would they be special if there were more of them, how could they be considered people if they could replaced just like that. Was all she was just a tool, something to be replaced when the time was right or when she failed to be useful. She felt empty inside, all meaning had been lost for her. All this time she had struggled to find an identity for herself, to build a life for herself.

Was it all in vain, did it mean nothing in the end?

Her fists balled up at that thought as the tears came once more, but this time in rage. She wouldn't allow herself to be replaced, she was a living person. So were her friends, and Kaine, her feelings for him were as real as anything. She wouldn't let Cadmus just toss any of them aside like garbage.

She screamed out all her fury and rage, she screamed as her eyes went red and beams of death and destruction were unleashed. The heat vision washed over the lab, she didn't hear anything just her own screaming as she destroyed the place. She wanted to leave nothing left, nothing that could be used to start over. She wasn't even aware she had stopped firing her heat vision, that the room had eventually became a smouldering ruins, when the fire system kicked in, covering her in water to put out fires.

She but was still screaming, eventually the screams turned to sobs as she fell to her knees. Kaine didn't waste any more time as she went down and embraced her. She buried herself into the embrace as she cried her broken heart out. Peter and Kara could only watch on mute, it was surreal to watch them like that, knowing full well the times they have been like that for each other.

They hadn't even noticed that Hamilton was gone, slipped out when Galatea started to destroy the lab. But at this point no one really cared about him, except for maybe the broken woman on the ground that had lost the only person she had ever considered family.

**-Waller's Office-**

Doctor Octopus wasn't happy, so far things hadn't been going as he had hoped. There were so many things he had hoped to have done. If only Galatea hadn't escaped he could have operated out of this base for a long time. But now he had to leave, and all but one of his turned pets were now no longer under his control. He had no idea where Zoom went, but he was no longer in the base, that much he was certain.

"Don't you just hate it when plans go wrong?" Amanda Waller said to him with a slight smirk on her face. She knew that he was doomed at this moment. There was no way out for him, except through security guards, that were no longer under his control she could guess. Then there were the heroes here as well as the clones, both would want to have a piece of him.

Doc Ock didn't even acknowledge her. He was too busy trying to think a way out of this, but so far he had no luck. The data that he had recovered was nice, but without freedom to use it, what was the point? Oh he could go out there and fight, he might even be able to take a couple down with him but in the end against those kinds of odds, he'd lose. And then it would be back to prison again, they would most likely put him in a special prison without metal. Or they would find a way to undo the repairs he did to his own brain, then he would be powerless once again. There was no way he was going back to being like that, not again.

There had to be a way around this, but so far he couldn't find something. The computer was still locking him out of certain parts of the database, he managed a little more but there were just so many security procedures. More than what he had originally thought, obviously paranoia ran deep in this group.

He slammed his fist into onto the desk, "I will not go out like this! All that planning and waiting will not go to waste!"

"Face it, you've lost. Maybe if you give up we can still work out a deal, although don't expect me to be nice about it." She said to him.

Now he did glare at her, he really was beginning to hate this woman.

A chime sounded as he looked to the computer, apparently she just had an e-mail sent to her. He was tempted to just forget it but in all honestly he had nothing better to do. He scanned it, just wondering who would e-mail such a woman. Although in a moment he was left even more confused, the e-mail was sent to Waller's account but it was addressed to him.

_**If you want to get out of the box you just cornered yourself into, then I have a way out. If that is you agree for a new employment opportunity. This time with no watch dog over you, I think I can work with a man like you so if you want your freedom, respond to this message**_

_**A friend.**_

Octavius didn't know what to think at first. Obviously someone knew what was going on and wanted to help him. But who had that kind of influence, he doubted that Waller would say anything to him. In fact he had an idea that she would be just as surprised as he was. Well it wasn't like he had anything to lose, plus anything would be better than this.

He responded and soon a new e-mail showed up. He read it and grinned, there were instructions and he followed them to the letter. He typed in a command and a secret part of the wall opened up. Amanda Waller was shocked that he had found it. That had been a secret escape for herself, she had personally oversaw it done, and no one should know of it's existence. It wasn't even in the computer system, so how the hell did he find it.

"Well it seems that I do have a way out," Doctor Octopus grinned as he took the data he had collected.

"I don't know how you did that, but you can be assured that I will hunt you down for this. There will be no place where you can hide where I can't find you." She told him coldly.

He paused for a moment as he thought about it. He knew the kinds of things she could do to him if she found him again, and she would find him. This woman was like a female version of Nick Fury, and he had enough of that to last two life times. He didn't know who this 'friend' was, but he doubted whoever it was could keep her off his back forever. He didn't like looking over his shoulder all his life, in fact he wouldn't look over his shoulder.

He stood to face her as although he respected her mind, she was just too dangerous an enemy.

"You know, I believe you would do that. So I'm going to have to change your mind about it."

She didn't looked impressed, "Somehow I doubt you can change my mind."

He smirked down at her, "Oh trust me I can be very persuasive."

**-Later-**

Peter and his group had finally made regrouped with the others. Apparently after some hacking they had managed to get the security system to shut down, well at least the doors and some of the more lethal surprises. That was all they needed anyway, as it made working through the facility a lot easier this way. There were no more blast doors getting in the way, plus now Doc Ock wouldn't have them trapped in certain areas, although there was something bothering Peter.

Mainly, he didn't expect to keep him out forever. If he could hack the system, there was really nothing to stop him from hacking his own hack. So they had to get to him before he got control of the system again.

"How much farther?" Shayera asked as the group made their way to Waller's office.

"Just ahead," Galatea said although after her little outburst she had been very quiet.

Peter could see Kaine was looking at her now and then. The fire really seemed to have gone out of the girl. In fact Peter had seen that look in her eyes before. Those were the eyes he had when he first got here. The eyes of someone that just had their world ripped away from them, who felt like she had nothing left. Despite everything, he couldn't help but feel for the woman.

When they finally reached the door, they weren't surprised it was locked. Shayera however had had enough of doors, she took her mace and swung it. She slammed it again and again into metal door, with each hit, the door gave just a bit more. Soon the remains of the door flew inwards as they tried to fit their way into the office.

Shayera was first in, with a few others as they were all ready for a fight. So it was a surprised when they found a silent office. Shayera looked around and then stopped as she froze with the sight. She had seen violence on her home world, on Earth and many other worlds as well. But it had been some time since she had come across something of this nature.

"Uh...okay I know it's been awhile since we've seen her last," Flash said staring at the scene. "But didn't Waller...used to have a head?"

There on the side of the office was Waller sitting limp in a chair, but minus her head.

"I...I think it might be what's left on the wall over there," Miss Martian said pointing at a red stain on the wall. "I think, I think I'm going to be sick."

"I-I'll take her to a bathroom," Superboy said looking nearly as green as his teen counterpart. He led the young woman away as others slowly got into the room. Those not used to this kind of scene left for the hall. Soon it was only a few left in the room as they looked around. Shayera had once been a cop, so after shaking off the brutality of it she looked around. She couldn't see any weapon that laying around but she did noticed metal missing from a part of the wall and then it laying on the floor. On closer inspection, she saw blood on some of it.

"What the hell did this?" she asked out loud looking at it.

"Oh hell," Peter said looking at the metal. "I don't know how but I've seen this before. He did regain his ability to control metal again." He hadn't wanted to believe what Galatea had told them, after all the man's brain had been lobotomized. Then again if there was a way, it would be in this place. He looked over at Waller and couldn't help but feel she had this coming. She thought she could control someone as dangerous as him, then she had paid for it.

"How the hell did he get out of the room, did he leave before we got here?" Donna asked as she looked around. There didn't seem to be any exits other than the ones they had came in. "Should we try and find him?"

"Yes," Shayera said standing up. "Cover the main exits, and any other place he could have slipped out. We'll turn this entire place over if we have to, but if he's still here we'll find him."

For some reason Peter wasn't comforted by that, he couldn't be sure but for some reason he felt that once again, Doctor Octopus was loose on the world.

**-Outside-**

Not too far away in an underground parking lot, a segment of a wall opened up. Doctor Octopus had gone through the escape tunnel and found himself here. As soon as he stepped out, the wall returned to where it was locking perfectly in place. He had to admit this was a very good location. Hidden from view and he supposed if Waller had been using it, she would have a car ready for her. Smart, too bad she wasn't smart enough.

The man stepped out of the shadows. "I believe no introductions are necessary?"

Doctor Octopus grinned it had been some time since he last met this man, "Lex Luthor, well this is a surprise. I have to admit that I didn't expect to see you of all people here."

"And I you," Lex smiled at him. "The man from another world, fascinating as always. Although with my new political career you can understand why we're meeting like this. Although did you really have to kill Waller, she can be a pain but she did have some uses."

"Never leave an enemy that can shoot you in the back later," Doc Oct said in a more serious tone. "Something I learned the hard way."

Lex nodded his head, even though he had strong ties to Cadmus funding much of them secretly, he had to admit that Waller always kept him at a distance. All the wonders that Cadmus had, and he couldn't touch any of it. Well now that she was gone, it wouldn't be too hard to get his fingers deeper into it, plus with the data stolen from Doctor Octopus he had something to sate his appetite for the time being.

**Next up Chapter 38: Epilogue **

**Bet you never saw that coming huh, and yes this will change future events. No project Batman Beyond, no more interference with her and who knows how many more changes. So I'm going to leave this story a bit open ended, just in case I want to ever come back to it.**


	38. Epilogue

**Web of Cadmus**

**Chapter 38: Epilogue **

After everything, Peter couldn't say that he felt a little cheated. They didn't find Octavius after everything and he was still out there. He didn't know where but some day he and Octavius would have to settle things. He looked around they were currently outside the base as both teams were picking up the pieces. The government had sent in a clean up grew to go over everything under the command of General Wade Eiling, who did not look happy. Well less happy then he normally did at least.

He looked to see that Guardian had been freed from the prison section by the other members, but he couldn't help but noticed Galatea and Kaine, he had never left her side and the girl was very quiet since she blew up that lab.

"Hey what's with her?" Superboy asked looking at the blonde. "Looks like someone kicked her puppy, if she had one."

"Back off," Kaine warned him.

"What? What did I say?" Superboy asked.

"Well it will take a lot of time in order to get this place back to normal," Hawkwoman sighed looking at their base. "I wonder who will be in charge now that Waller is dead?"

"I don't care," Galatea said in a defeated tone, "I'm not going back."

"What do you mean not going back?" Miss Martian asked the older clone.

"They were just using us," Galatea said as she sat down. The images of those tanks were still going through her mind. The entire life, no her entire existence meant nothing to Cadmus. She was just a replaceable tool for their own uses. If she went back then what would happen given she blew up that lab? They would keep her locked up most likely, then take her DNA, clone another her, and then kill her since she bet she was 'unstable' now.

Hawkwoman could see that Galatea was upset in fact more upset than she could ever see the other woman. She knelt down next to her, as the only two adult women they had formed a bond over their time. "What happened Tea?" she asked gently.

Galatea told them, she told them of the lab that were making copies of herself and the entire Cadmus clone team. How they were nothing more than just replacements, how if any of them were no longer part of the Cadmus program they would just replace them. The reactions were pretty much what she expected, outrage.

The clones couldn't believe that Cadmus had planned for that.

"This totally sucks!" Superboy shouted out. "I mean I thought we were the only ones but now this?! Well screw this, I ain't going back there to be copied and replaced, screw that!"

"They would really do that to us?" Miss Martian said with wide fearful eyes.

"The hell they are, I'm not going back and neither should anyone else," Hawkwoman said to them. There was no way in hell she was going to let more people screw with them. It was bad enough what Doc Ock had done to them all, but this was just as bad if not even worse.

"I'm staying," Guardian said surprising everyone there.

"What the hell old man, didn't getting younger supposed to not make you senile?" Superboy asked the gold armoured man.

"How can you stay when I just told you what they were planning!" Galatea said angry at him nearly being held back by Kaine.

He held up a hand, "I know, trust me I don't like it anymore than you do. But with Amanda gone there will be lots of confusion and I can bet a power struggle between the members. A new head will be put in place but whose to say that it will be someone worse be put into power?"

"I still owe them for giving me a new life, and a new purpose. I also know after seeing it, that their means to an end are not the kind of thing I approve of. But there is potential here, I just feel that they need someone to be their moral compass. They need someone to show them when they cross a line they shouldn't cross." He explained to them.

"And you think you can be that moral compass?" Kaine asked him. Personally he didn't believe it but if this man felt he had to at least try it couldn't hurt. Hell, if Cadmus got someone worse in charge maybe having someone that would stand up, to whoever it would be, wouldn't be so bad.

"Someone has to do it." Guardian grinned at him. He knew it wouldn't be easy but then nothing in life ever was.

**4 Months Later**

**-Central City-**

Kaine was looking around the new apparent that he and Galatea had. It hadn't been easy but the two of them had wanted to live their own lives from now on, they wouldn't be pawns or tools anymore. Now they just wanted to live their own lives, to be left alone for the time being to find themselves. Although he didn't like being indented to the League, there were still some hard feelings but they promised to keep their distance as long as they behaved, Batman's wording of course.

At the moment they had a nice studio apartment, and had jobs lined up. Nothing glamorous but it was nice to just live a normal life for once. Sure he had the memories of that, but he wanted his own experiences to fully find himself.

"Kaine do you know where I left that box marked 'special wear'?" Galatea's voice called from the single bedroom.

"In the closet I think." He said.

"Ah found it, thanks."

"What's in that anyway?" he had to ask as she never let him see what was inside of it. He was currently unpacking the few dishes they had, not like they needed all that much for just the two of them. There was a silence as he noticed she didn't answer. "Tea?" He called out and then went to see what she was doing. He got a surprise when he found her trying on a costume, it looked mostly like her own only with some additions.

"What's this?" He asked a little amused.

"I got my costume changed, I wanted nothing left of Cadmus so I'm leaving as much behind me as I can." She told him honestly as he pulled on the last of two blue boots. There was also a gold belt around her waist and her gloves were now blue as well. She had a lot to deal with in the months since leaving Cadmus, but thankfully Kaine had always been there for her. If it wasn't for him, she would have fallen apart. He was the rock of her life the one thing that she knew she could count on. It was odd turn of events, she remembered when their roles were reversed when they first met.

She wasn't sure about the last addition, it was a red short cape that hung over one shoulder with a gold link on it.

Kaine raised an eyebrow at that point.

"No I'm not doing what you think," she told him flat out knowing what he was thinking. "red was the only color they had."

"Well at any rate it will help move you away from Cadmus, so are you going to go by Galatea in that?" They hadn't really talked about names. They did want to continue to use their powers but for their own reasons. They hadn't gone out in costume yet as they were still setting up their lives.

"No, I'm leaving that behind as well." She told him softly as she took something out and handed it to him. It was a license with her picture on it but the name was totally different.

"Karen Starr?"

She nodded, "I wanted a real name and I liked this one. What about you?"

"I'm still thinking on that, although I think I'll keep the name Kaine, it suits me I think." He told her as he handed it back.

"So…Karen, man that's going to get some getting use to, what about your 'other' name?"

She had been thinking about this for a long time now, what name to give herself while in costume. Her costume still held a bit of the old Cadmus look, plus there were two members of her old team that would never com back it would seem. Zoom was out there and Powerboy was pretty much locked up for mental reasons.

She was one of the most powerful people on the planet and she wanted to also wanted everyone to know it. Plus if Kara could be Supergirl then maybe she could try and be more then just 'super'.

"I think I'll go by Powergirl from now on." She grinned at him.

Kaine gave a small laugh as he shook his head, "Still the rivalry with her, huh?"

"Only until she admits who is best," she grinned as she pulled him into a kiss. This was another thing she enjoyed about real life, they could be themselves and do anything they wanted.

**Jump City**

"I'm not so sure about this," Superboy said to his teen friend as they arrived. They had finally been given a chance to prove themselves but instead of the League where do they get sent, but here. This small island with some kind of giant T building on it. How the hell it stood up he didn't know, the building looked like it defied some basic laws on stress and gravity.

"Don't be like that," Miss Martian told him. She was excited, she was going somewhere where she could fit in. Although it had been nice spending the last few months with J'onn learning all she could on Martian history and culture. She wanted to go out into the world, to be a part of it, yet for some reason he stayed in the Watchtower. So she got assigned to go here, she was thankful her friend would be sent here.

"You should be glad to be here," Starfire said as she was the one guiding them here. "I have very fond memories of this place and of this team. In fact many of this generations heroes were once members."

"Yeah, name one?" Superboy asked.

"Well there's me, Flash, Speedy, Nightwing-"

"Okay I get it." Superboy said with a sigh. "Don't see why I need to come I'm good enough to be League material."

"You're still young and inexperienced, and this is the best place to get that, trust me on this." Starfire told the young boy. "Oh look there are a few of the other new members."

"Yo what's up?" A boy in white an green suit flew over to them. He had on some kind of helmet and his footwear had some kind of built in rockets. "You must be the new guys, I'm Gear."

"Oh yeah, you're Static's sidekick right?" Superboy asked.

"Sidekick!?" Gear said a little angry. "I haven't been that in a long time, I'm a full time partner now!"

"Jeez take a chill pill already," Superboy told him. "Didn't know it was a sensitive subject."

"Yes but he'll get over it," Came a dark skinned boy on a board of some kind, this was Static. Both he and Gear had joined the new Teen Titans after being recommended by Spider-Man for the position. Sure it was a little hard going to and from Dakota all the time, but with all the Bang Babies gone, the city had never been safer since before the Big Bang. At least here with the Titans, he and Gear have made some friends and could do some real good in the world.

"Look out!" Came a female's voice as an arrow came sailing over head. It hit a tree as it buried into it, a blonde haired girl in a red costume came running up. "Sorry about that I was trying to adjust my bow and see if I could get more range with it, and Robin wanted to test it out."

"Sorry about that," Robin said feeling a little embarrassed about it. "never fired one of them before."

"That would be Arrowette and Robin," Static told the others.

"Cool more team members," Arrowette smiled as she went up to Miss Martian. "It's so nice to get another girl on the team, so far it's only me and Secret."

"Secret?" Miss Martian asked.

"Yeah come on and I'll introduce you," the young blonde said as she took the green girl's hand in hers. She gave Superboy a smile as she lead the girl away. Superboy watched her go, she was kind of cute, although she was wearing that red mask that covered the top part of her face but still, everything else looked good.

"Maybe I'll like it here after all," Superboy grinned.

"Yeah it's not bad once you get here," Robin said as he looked to the boy that didn't look that much older than him. "Name's Robin and you're Superboy right?"

"That's right."

"Well, welcome to the team," Robin stuck out his hand and Superboy shrugged and shook it. "Looking forward to working with you." Tim Drake told him.

**-New York-**

Peter was sitting on the small balcony of his place as he looked over the city, night had fallen and normally he'd be out and about but he needed a break. He had pulled a full day his job, went to his classes, did his homework as well. He was beat, but with a few more heroes in the city the place was a lot safer.

Shayera's clone the one that went by the name Hawkwoman, seemed to have taken roost in the city a month ago. He didn't mind, she seemed okay to him so he didn't mind the extra help. Long Shadow had also apparently moved to New York and he had been seen with Donna fighting crime together. Apparently he and Kara weren't the new 'New York Couple' at the moment. Apparently the two of them were really becoming an item.

The paper he worked for was already trying to get him to get photos of them. He grinned if he could convince his friends to pose for him. At any rate things had calmed down lately, Doctor Octopus was still at large but he would turn up sooner or later. The man couldn't hide forever and he would be waiting for it, in the mean time he had other issues.

He sighed as he looked over the city, it was always busy but at least from this height the noise didn't really reach. Sometimes he wondered how Kara could deal with it with that super hearing of hers. He looked over his shoulder at his live in girlfriend, she was on the phone with Barbara getting the usual gossip from Gotham. She laughed at something and he had to smile, no matter what he liked to see her happy.

She said something and put the phone down as she came out to join him.

"So how's Barbara?" Peter asked as she slipped next to him and he placed an arm around her waist.

"Doing very well, apparently she and Speedy are having a good time," she grinned. Sure the little match making hadn't gone as planned but it made her friend happy and that was important. "Also apparently Batman has been seeing a certain Amazon lately."

"Man I hope Diana doesn't know he's seeing Donna behind her back," Peter joked which earned him an elbow to his side. "Ow! Kidding! Anyways I was wondering when they would get it together, I mean you could cut the sexual tension with the knife with those two."

Kara nodded her head as she put her head on his shoulder. They stood there in silence just looking over the city. "I can't help but wonder about the future."

"Oh?"

"Yeah I mean apparently Powerboy's mind was already somewhat twisted up," She remembered how when J'onn tried to remove the programming from the clone experiment's mind it hadn't taken. Apparently the boy's mind had been already unstable, most likely due to the fact he was an experimental clone. There were certain genetic defects apparently, but the pushing Doc Ock made were only just nudging him to what he would have done naturally. That was a scary thought, thankfully he was now locked up in a maximum security prison for super criminals.

Then there was Zoom, that guy apparently liked the life of a criminal. She had seen how Flash was lately, she knew what it was like to have seen a copy of herself doing bad things. Speaking of which, it would seem that her and Peter's clones were keeping out of trouble. It was odd or was it fitting? She couldn't tell really, but maybe it was fate how she and Peter had met and grew to love each other and their clones had done the same.

As she looked over their city she wasn't sure what the future held, only that she wanted to be by Peter's side through it all.

"What are you thinking about?" Peter asked seeing her far away look.

She smiled as she hugged him. "Only of how I'm looking forward to the future."

Peter raised an eyebrow and just shrugged it off, he wasn't sure what she was getting at but at any rate for the moment things were settling down and despite the things he was happy. It had been a rough year but despite everything, his new life in this world was good. As the two heroes looked over the city both had no idea what the future held, but they both knew that together they could take anything that came their way.

**The End**

**Well I'm not sure I'll make another of these but if I do get an idea for another then at least I got some stuff to work with now.**


End file.
